Free shop for a year is not pie in the sky

PIE-MAKERS emulated Scotland’s football team by singing their own version of “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” after winning premises free for a year.

Staff at WeeCook in Carnoustie were delighted to secure a year’s rental of a retail unit in the Wellgate Shopping Centre.

WeeCook owner Hayley Wilkes is now looking forward to offering delicious “pehs” to city shoppers after winning the Shop Star competition.

She said staff were delighted to win the prize after being selected from the final four.

A total of 18 entrepreneurs entered the Wellgate competition in October, offering premises on level two of the centre.

Despite the challenging climate for retail, both Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce and chartered accountants MHA Henderson Loggie backed the competition, and passed on their congratulations to the winners.

Hayley said: “When we found out we had won we were doing our own rendition of Yes Sir, I Can Boogie with the staff in our Carnoustie premises.”

Scotland’s footballers were filmed singing Baccara’s 1977 hit after qualifying for Euro 2020 last month.

Hayley added: “We put together our pitch and presented it on a Zoom call. We entered the competition totally randomly.

“I think Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce had retweeted the competition and I thought it would be a great opportunity.

“We certainly didn’t think we’d even be shortlisted, so we are absolutely delighted we’ve won.”

Hayley and her WeeCook manager Emelye Macqueen said a factor in attracting them to the City of Discovery was their strong customer base in the city.

Hayley added: “Through the pandemic we have delivered to our customers in Dundee and Angus.

“One thing through lockdown was the click and collect service and having the site at the Wellgate will allow people in Dundee who don’t have transport to still have access to our products.”

Despite having only just received the keys to the unit, WeeCook is hoping to hold a soft launch in the form of a minimarket this month, before staging an official opening about the end of January.

Hayley said: “The pies will be the main event in the shop and we know that people in the city love their pies.

“There will be the traditional offerings from our chefs, while there will be other more contemporary pies on offer as well.

“Although it has been a challenging time for everyone we will be creating more jobs off the back of this.

“We are looking forward to coming to the city and the Wellgate.”

Wellgate manager Morag Dennis said she was “delighted” to welcome WeeCook into the family at the centre.

She added: “I was surprised just how many businesses entered and we are delighted for WeeCook. The standard of all the candidates was really high.

“The good thing is we are in negotiations with all the nominees to see how we could help them set up in the centre which is really exciting.”