An Aberdeen laundry business is celebrating being able to open for the first time in almost a year after the chip shop next door set on fire.
Aberdeen Laundry Services (ALS) at Byron Square was forced to close when the chip shop next door went up in flames.
Although the flames did not spread to the launderette, there was extensive smoke damage throughout the unit.
Lynn Taylor, manager at ALS, said: “It’s been a tough 11 months but we’re so happy to finally be reopening.
“The store was all locked up and everyone was ready to go home when the fire happened.
“I was actually working in Glasgow at the time but my son lives behind the shop and called to tell me the chip shop was on fire and contacted colleagues straight away.
“Because it was a chip fat fire, everything went up in flames quite quickly. We had a lot of smoke damage, but the chip shop was absolutely gutted.”
Welcoming back customers
It has taken almost a year to repair the damage and get the store ready to reopen while working within the restrictions. The staff are now preparing to welcome back customers from Thursday May 27.
Ms Taylor continued: “Due to Covid we can’t have a big ceremony but we will have a couple people there to celebrate the re-opening with a ribbon cutting.”
The laundry has invited Billy Robb, customer service director at NorthLink Ferries, to cut the ribbon tomorrow. ALS has worked with the ferry firm for several years now which is part of the Buy North East campaign.
The laundry business has been operating since 1898 and now has premises across the north of Scotland, including three retail stores in Aberdeen. Company directors Surendra Khandelwal and David Ashton took over the long-running business in 2008.
Last year, ALS received Royal Bank of Scotland funding to support operations during the pandemic. The company provided additional PPE and linen for frontline NHS staff and Street Friends Aberdeen.