A LISTED Victorian toilet block in one of Scotland's best-known urban parks is to be reinvented - as a chic cafe for the health-conscious.
The Queen's Rooms in Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park will be leased by the city council to a team of catering entrepreneurs who aim to attract park users, surrounding businesses and local residents with organic and fair trade health foods and drinks.
Known as An Clachan Cafe, it will have a capacity for 30 indoor diners and a further 30 outside. It will also operate a takeaway service using biodegradable packaging. It will open seven days a week, until 5pm during winter and 9pm in summer.
The C-listed building has lain derelict for more than 25 years and any alterations will have to be sympathetic to its external heritage features.
The proposal comes after pub and club owner Stefan King announced plans to recreate a historic railway station in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens as a cafe.
He is competing with several other firms which have made tenders.
Garry Pilkington and Barbara McGinley, the team behind the Queen's Rooms scheme, will discover on Friday whether the council has agreed to the 25-year lease for the property.
Both eventually plan to give up their careers in education to run the venture and will contribute £20,000 towards the cost of a small park on a plot adjacent to the cafe.
Mr Pilkington said: "We wouldn't give up our jobs for any old greasy spoon.
"We've identified a fantastic venue and a niche in the healthy end of the catering market. Although the building is listed we can do some alterations inside but we plan to leave the exterior alone."
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