A new concept in cafe-culture is being established in Ilkeston which will rejuvenate a former newspaper office and an old butcher's shop.
The dog-friendly venue on Bath Street will bring an end to 30 years of disuse and disrepair and comes as part of plans to bring some life back to that part of the town’s high street.
Such was the anticipation of the unit opening, Joe Cahill, who runs the Ilkeston’s Independent Shops Facebook page, had been on a “stakeout” when the shop front had gone up.
He invited page members to guess what the new business might be, even offering a specially commissioned mug to the person who guessed correctly.
Complete with a dog station equipped with dog friendly drinks, Man’s Best Friend is being made to feel at home.
It is the brainchild of Amy Eyre, 41, who has previously worked in pubs but, as a dog lover, always wanted to open a canine-friendly venue.
The mum-of-four, who has two Cocker Spaniels, six-year-old Zuma and two-year-old Blu, said: “When we would go out, we were always looking for places to take the dogs. This was something we always wanted to do, so it made sense.”
Amy, who is married to Ian and lives in Ilkeston, said she had her eye on the unit for a while and had looked at the site just as Covid hit.
She added: “Due to Covid, things took a bit longer than planned. The bottom end of Bath Street has been a bit rundown. It will be nice to bring some people to this end of town. We can’t wait to get up and running.”
Joe Cahill, from the Ilkeston's independent shops Facebook Page, said the shop will be "the jewel in the crown" of that part of the high street, and praised site owner and construction firm owner, local man Ian Hodgkinson for "gentrifying" the site. He said: "It just goes to prove that Ilkeston has got a lot of potential and vibrancy about it.”
Letting agent Mark Richardson helped to market the unit. He said: “Ian is a really good developer and we are pleased to have got the unit a really good tenant. I’m sure they will do really well. Bath Street seems to be on the up again and this all adds up to it bouncing back.”