Pie-makers channelled Scotland’s football team by singing their own version of “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” after winning a free shop in Dundee.
Stunned staff at WeeCOOK in Carnoustie were delighted to win a retail unit in the Wellgate shopping centre and are now salivating at the prospect of opening-up.
Offering delicious peh’s to the Dundee masses is something WeeCOOK owner, Hayley Wilkes, is looking forward to after winning the Shop Star competition.
© James Simpson/DCT Media
She said staff were “delighted” to win the prize after being whittled down to the final four.
A total of 18 entrepreneurs had entered the Wellgate competition in October, which was offering a one-year licence to run a shop and a year’s free rent amongst other incentives.
Despite the challenging climate for retail, both The Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce and chartered accounts MHA Henderson Loggie backed the competition, and passed on their congratulations to the winners.
Hayley said: “We found out last Thursday that we’d won and we were doing our own rendition of Yes Sir, I Can Boogie with the staff in the Carnoustie premises.
© DC Thomson
“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 Wellgate competition and I just thought what a great opportunity that would be.
“We certainly didn’t think we’d get 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 had been 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 those in Dundee who don’t have transport to still have access to our products.”
Despite only securing the keys yesterday the business is hoping to do a soft launch in the form of a mini-market this month, before holding an official opening nearer to the end of January.
She added: “The pies will be the main event in the shop and we know that the city loves their pies.
“There will be the traditional offerings from our chefs whilst there are 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.”
Morag Dennis, Centre Manager of the Wellgate said she was “delighted” to welcome them into family at the centre.
She added: “I was surprised just how many businesses entered, we are delighted for the WeeCOOK. The standard of the all the candidates was really high though.
“The good thing is we are in negotiations with all the nominations to see how we could help them set-up in the centre which is really exciting.”
