Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Gallery: First look inside re-opened Rose Street Foundry bar

Inverness centre pub, restaurant and music venue remembers its past as it prepares to open to the public

The VIP preview night for the new Foundry Bar in Inverness. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
The VIP preview night for the new Foundry Bar in Inverness. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

The newest addition to the Inverness hospitality scene marked its renaissance with a nod to its past life.

The Rose Street Foundry bar, restaurant and music venue opens to the public tonight (sat) ahead of a grand opening on February 2.

But around 300 lucky guests were given an exclusive first look at an invite-only preview.

Landmark building

It was the first time in more than a year the city centre bar in a landmark building, formerly the AI Welders foundry, has been open to customers.

And among the VIPs enjoying what is a re-opening of the premises were former AI Welders staff, some of them in their 90s.

The Cairngorm Brewery bought the historic building in 2013 and spent £2.2 million of a major restoration.

It opened in 2020, less than a week before the Covid lockdown.

It was able to re-open later, but rising staff and energy costs led to it closing in September 2022.

New tenant Rio Sol, a company set up by partners Stuart Forrester and Donald Mackay, was announced in December.

Just two weeks after getting the keys to the premises, they have re-opened the venue, largely keeping  the style of the previous bar and many of the original foundry’s artefacts.

Full-size swall murals also depict some of the rich history of Inverness and the Rose Street Foundry.

The preview night saw guests welcomed by a piper and entertained inside by a jazz band, a prelude to live music shows planned in future.

Donald Mackay said: “It’s fantastic to be at the point of opening after such a quick turnaround.

“It’s been a challenge but we’re ready and the support we’ve had has been phenomenal.

“And it’s great that we are marking this occasion with some of the former AI Welders staff.

“It’s great that they can come back and experience the place in its new form.”

Iain MacKintosh, who worked at AI Welders for 33 years, latterly as sales manager, said of the new bar: “I think it’s quite remarkable and it’s great to be here tonight. I hope to be back regularly.

“The murals are tremendous and it marks an important part of Inverness’s history.”

Iain Fraser, who was 20 years at the company and also a sales manager, said: “It’s great to see what they have done with the place and the connection to the foundry.”

His wife Shona Fraser, who was secretary to the works director, said: “It’s part of the history of the town and was one of the main places of employment.

“When visitors come here they want to learn about the history of the place. I think it’s brilliant.”

Richard Paxton, who worked at the Welders for eight years, latterly as a test technician, said: “It was a great place to serve your time. The machines AI welders built were unique.

“It’s great the place and the people are being remembered.”

Chris Manning, the bar’s general manager, who will also be singing with his band in the bar, said it’s been exciting to get to the opening stage.

“When you’re putting things together behind the scenes you have no idea what’s going to happen.

“Now we’ve opened the doors and seen peoples’ reaction there is a real buzz.

“It’s been an enhausting two weeks,but I’m energised now to push it forward.

“This wil be a real hub that people will want to come to. It will be a combination of great good, great music and making the most of this event space.

“I’m really excited to see who will come to play here.”

 

The VIP preview night for the Rose Street Foundry Bar on Academy Street, Inverness was held last night. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
People mingled at the preview night. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
General Manager Chris Manning with waitresses Katie Callender, Katie Glass and Eva Duncan. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Piper Marc Ross of Inverness. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Business partners in the new venue, Donald Mackay (left) and Stuart Forrester. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Everyone had a nice night socialising. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Ian and Shona Fraser while on the right is Ritchie Paxton, former AI Welders employees. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
General Manager Chris Manning. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
A fantastic atmospheric buzz around the venue. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Guests enjoying the new Foundry Bar. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Gill Hannah with her son Rowan. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Snacks were provided to guests. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Little nibbles were served on the night. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Drinks to celebrate the opening.  Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Downstairs some guests enjoying beers at the new bar. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
More guests sitting in the booths. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
A nice evening for those who came to the Preview. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
General Manager Chris Manning chatting to the guests. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
A band was hired for the event. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Conversation