A laundry business serving customers across the Highlands is set to reopen 18 months after a terrible fire destroyed its premises.
Beauly Launderette and Dry Cleaners will resume business on February 27 in time for the tourist season.
It has invested around £150,000 in equipment and fitting out a new building.
The business, which started in the 1980s, opened a new laundry in 2017. It had expanded to serve customers including hotels and B&Bs as far afield as Sutherland and Skye.
Beauly fire fought for several hours
Firefighters fought the blaze in Station Road on August 27 2021 for several hours after it broke out at around 5am.
It was brought under control at 8am, but fire teams returned later following reports of smoke coming from the building.
Since then the business has moved to new premises behind the Co-op building and bought new machinery including a six-and-a-half-ton iron from the Netherlands.
Owner Duncan Fraser said: “We provided a vital service to so many small businesses across the Highlands, and it was heart-breaking to not be able to do our job for 18 months.
“But we are really looking forward to catching up with all our customers and preparing for a great tourist season this year.
“The fire was a terrible blow for the business, but I have to thank the laundry team and all our lovely customers for their loyalty and patience while we rebuilt.”
The seasonal business employed 11 part-time staff before the fire and it is hoped to recruit a similar number when reopened.
“We are really stoked about getting started again. Before the last place burned down we were in need of a bigger building”, said Mr Fraser.
“The new premises are larger and the investment we’ve made in new machinery means we can do things twice as quickly.
Vital time for laundry to reopen
“We’ve had a really positive response in relation to recruitment and expect to get back very quickly to the level we were at previously.
“We’ve also had a great response from customers. This is a vital time ahead of the tourist season to get going again and there are a lot of people really glad we’re back in business.”
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