Family 'heartbroken' after plans for new Indian restaurant at Dows bar in Inverness are halted
A family planning to open a new Indian restaurant and takeaway in the premises of a popular Inverness bar said they are 'heartbroken' after being told they could no longer start their business in their premises.
Last month it was announced that owners of a new venture called Nippy Naga were looking forward to starting business from the kitchen at Dows Bar & Bistro in Hilton – whose building is owned by the Admiral Taverns franchise.
The new family business run by Tahmina Uddin and her husband Ashiqur Rahman – better known as Rana, who is also chef at the Mangrove in Academy Street – was almost ready to start serving customers when they received the news that things had changed.
Tahmina’s mother Christina Uddin, owner of the Bonnie Bhaji takeaway in Invergordon and who was helping the couple start up the business, said: "Rana was completely devastated when it was confirmed that they would no longer be able to start the business at Dows.
"This left them considerably out of pocket.
"They were almost ready to start, they had to cancel the appointment with the technician to install the landline and had started cleaning the kitchen.
"We were all left heartbroken, they put so much time and effort into starting the business."
She said the family was however coming to terms with what happened.
She said: "We are now past this, it was not meant to be and we hope a better opportunity will come in the future."
Mr Rahman was able to continue in his previous job, the family has confirmed.
In a post shared on Facebook, Tahamina Uddin said: "Rana and our whole family deserved better than this but it has made us stronger together and we know better things will come to us in the future.
"Here’s to new beginnings and once again a big thank you to the guys that work at Dows for your help and support throughout this."
They decided to share the news on their social channels after being asked by many people why the signs for the restaurants were taken down.
It is understood that the decision was taken by the owners of the premises rather than management at Dows.
A Dows' spokesperson said they do not wish to comment.
A spokesperson at Admiral Taverns said: "Under the tenancy agreement, the current licensee is not entitled to sub-let the kitchen."