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IAN MacIntyre’s shop has become a bit of an institution in Tarbert and after more than 100 years the shop has finally been restored to its original size.
He bought the tobacconists 37 years ago, which sits next to the old Clydesdale bank that closed its doors some time last year.
He explains: ‘This shop has been here for a very long time and initially it encompassed the whole building.
‘However, around 1905 the shop was divided into two and a Clydesdale Bank opened up next door.’
Ian had always wanted to expand the shop and the family managed to do it practically overnight by simply pulling down the partition wall.
Ian says: ‘It was amazingly easy. Also we made a little discovery. Along the ceiling where we tore down the wall you can see the old wallpaper as it was when Robert James Mitchell had the shop in 1892.’ The shop front has been restored to a more traditional frontage and Ian says he is very happy with the way it has turned out.
He only has one complaint: ‘This area of Tarbert is a conservation zone and yet there was no financial help available to restore the shop to its former glory.
‘We had to finance the entire project ourselves. I think that it is very discriminatory. I’m sure the same would not have happened in Campbeltown.’
