A St Andrews café familiar to tourists, visitors and locals alike is to be given a major revamp over the coming weeks.
Following discussions with Fife Council, St Andrews Links has signed a lease to operate the former Sea Shell Café on the town’s West Sands and will undertake a programme of refurbishment to refresh the interior and exterior of the building, including renaming it The West Sands Café.
The modernisation and improvement works have already started in earnest in the hope the new-look facility can open in April, in time for the busy summer season on the Fife coast.
Ewan Bowman, St Andrews Links director of operations, said he was delighted to see the organisation strike a deal with the local authority to take over the lease.
“The West Sands continues to be a hugely popular location with local residents and visitors alike and we believe the café provides a great focal point and hub,” he said.
“Our focus in the first quarter of the year is to refurbish and modernise the existing site and make the café a very welcoming space for visitors, whether its local residents or visitors to the town, the Links and the West Sands.
“The refurbishment will be carried out by our highly-skilled, in-house technical services team and we hope to create a more permanent outdoor seating area and a welcoming, bright space inside where we can continue to offer a great selection of good value drinks, food and beach essentials to customers.”
The addition of the café to the Links’ landscape furthers St Andrews Links commitment to the West Sands following a similar deal with the council almost three years ago.
In April 2016, St Andrews Links in conjunction with Fife Council agreed to take formal responsibility for maintenance of the land between the perimeter of the Jubilee Course and the high water mark of West Sands beach.
Mr Bowman added: “We would like to thank the previous tenant and Fife Council for their help and assistance in ensuring a seamless handover.
“We look forward to completing this project and welcoming customers throughout the summer months.”
