The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Dundee folk finally get ehs on the pehs
Popular artisan pie maker and restaurant the WeeCOOK finally opens its shop in Dundee’s Wellgate Centre today.
Well-known for their signature pies, which they sell at farmers’ markets and deliver all over the country, the Barry-based restaurant won a retail unit in the city’s Wellgate Centre in a competition more than four months ago.
They only managed to host a couple of pop-up events before being closed by the second lockdown.
Chef and proprietor Hayley Wilkes said: “We only managed to pop-up for two days at Christmas to give it a road test, see what it would be like and see what we needed to do.
“We have never done retail before, so this is all brand new for us, but everyone at the Wellgate has been so amazing and supportive.
“There’s a really nice buzz and it’s a really friendly place to be.”
While the WeeCOOK will be selling their own produce, they will also be providing an opportunity for other traders to visit and hosting pop-ups.
“The opening will be as grand as we can get and we have Dundee Cheesecakes coming along. We will have Fudge and Fancies coming along at some point, Artisana, Sacred Grounds, Fournos Greek food – all local Angus traders who frequent the Dundee markets and ones that we have built relationships with,” said Hayley.
“They are little businesses throughout lockdown who have delivered and supported their local communities the best they can. So we are giving them the stalls for free, as it is nice to be able to give something back,” she said.
“We have been next to Dundee Cheesecakes at Dundee Market and they sell out because they are so, so popular.
“We are hoping to get some strawberries in, too.”
Rachel Forbes, 21, will be running the Wellgate shop. She has a background in hospitality and is going on to study events management.
“We will be doing cold pies, hot pies and clickand-collect on the pies,” Hayley said.
They will also be selling merchandise for pie fans, like mugs, which are very popular, and T-shirts.
“We have got some leaflets printed up, too, so people can get a 5% discount if they are spending £25 or more and in the restaurant.”
The Wellgate pie shop will be open on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, said Hayley, who added: “We don’t know what the footfall will be for us, plus we want to make sure that staff have a good work-life balance.
“They will have Mondays and Tuesday off, and we will bake Wednesdays and Thursdays to stock up ready for the busy days.
“I know retail is changing and everyone is buying online, but it is trying to get a little hybrid model which fits around our staffs’ lives and the way the world is working just now.”