Former Albert Hotel Bar To Open As New Cafe

The pair say they want to bring a 'west end' feel to their new premises, called 1830 Eatery.

The new venture is the duo's first foray into managing a business, but both have spent years working in restaurants and cafes.

Rashith told how the pair met while working at Punto Italian restaurant in Kilmacolm and immediately hit it off.

He said: "Previously I had worked at Cairn in Kilmacolm and was there for about four years before I went to Punto, where I met Liuda.

"We both worked in the kitchen and found we had good chemistry.

"We saw the opportunity here and decided to take it on, it's very exciting.

"The idea is to bring a west-end cafe vibe to this part of Gourock, using local suppliers from Inverclyde and Scotland.

"We'll have artisan coffee and home bakes from Liuda, whose speciality is baking.

"Liuda is from Moldova and I'm from Sri Lanka, we'd like to bring some of those cultures into our food when we're doing specials and that sort of thing."

The Albert was a bar when it closed down in 2016 and it was snapped up at auction by Kirsteen Murray a few months later.

She converted it into a guest house and had planned to lease it out for that purpose, before appointing Bowman Rebecchi to support the separate leasing of the restaurant and guest house.

Rashith said: "When the owner explained the history of the Albert Hotel to us, we realised how much there was to this building.

"We're trying to bring that history to the new venture while also creating something new."

Rashith is classically trained in Mediterranean cuisine and has been working as a chef for 13 years.

Liuda hopes that the cafe will be ready to open by July and says she 'can't wait' to welcome locals in.

She added: "It's so exciting, I feel like I'm 21 again.

"Watching how previous businesses I've worked at grew, I've got a good idea of what I want to do with our venture.

"Rashith is a very good chef, he's calm and organised, there's no shouting or anything like that.

"I told him he should start his own business.

"We've already had a lot of people passing and saying how great it is to see someone taking the place over.

"We want to have a good environment for our staff and customers and make this place a nice social space for folk to come to."

The First and Second Floors of the Albert Hotel are available to let as a guest house. For further details, click here.

Follow 1830 Eatery.

This article and image appeared in The Greenock Telegraph.