Hotel to re-open as a pub and restaurant
£1million invested
A famous Stirling hotel will reopen as a pub and restaurant in the coming months after a £1million investment – creating up to 16 new jobs.
The old Allan Park Hotel had previously been in the hands of the McCallum family who had run it as a popular tourist stop for more than five decades.
But husband and wife team Stuart and Jo Riddle took over last month after purchasing the historic B-listed Georgian building in a £1million deal.
And they now hope to have the venue open by May – in time for Stirling’s summer season.
Works are now being done to relocate the cellar and kitchen while several internal walls are being knocked down and rebuilt. A new bar will also be built.
While the Allan Park is set to open as a pub, restaurant and coffee house, there will also be overnight accommodation – and all rooms are being repainted and decorated.
The Riddles are also behind The Riverside eaterie in Dunblane and have previously worked at Gleneagles and The Houstonian Hotel in the USA.
And they have enlisted Stirling man Richard McMullen, former general manager at the Jam Jar in Bridge of Allan, to take on the running of the day-to-day operations at the Allan Park.
They will be taking on 16 new members of staff on a full-time basis across a number of roles.
Stuart (42) said: “Since we took over in February we have been working hard to transform this fabulous Georgian building into a truly special pub, restaurant and coffee house which will be a home to a wealth of incredible foods, premium gins, beers, wines and Artisan quality coffees.”
Jo is keen to underline their commitment to using local produce and vendors.
She said: “Our commitment to locally sourced food and drink, and the people who supply us, is something we pride ourselves in.
“Most of our food comes from suppliers within Stirlingshire, Perthshire and West Lothian who provide us with wonderful ingredients, so our team can make some truly marvellous dishes.
“But these people are also enormously committed to protecting and nurturing our local economy, and preserving the countryside and heritage.
“We are even going to continue using the same Stirling laundry service which the McCallum family relied on for all these years.”
The city centre property at 20 Allan Park was built between 1818 and 1820 by Stirling architect and burgess Alexander Bowie – a relation of American Wild West hero Jim Bowie who died alongside Davy Crockett and others at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.