
High street round-up: Frasers Dundee opens, new Dunfermline world buffet and Montrose Chinese restaurant plans
Dundee's new Frasers department store opening and a new world buffet in Dunfermline are among the latest developments on high streets across Tayside, Fife and Stirling.
The Courier has rounded up the latest from pubs, restaurants, shops and hotels across the region in one handy place.
Our regular updates will bring you up to speed with what's going on in your local high streets and shopping centres.
The new Frasers department store in Dundee's Overgate Shopping Centre opened on Friday.
The shop is located over three levels in the unit formerly occupied by Debenhams.
It combines Frasers, Sports Direct, USC and Game across 60,000 sq ft.
Around 100 people queued to be the first inside Frasers when it opened on Friday morning, just before 11am.
Shoppers were 'impressed' with the new department store, which they hope will increase footfall in the city centre.
Matalan was rapped by Dundee City Council after carrying out unauthorised works at its city centre store.
The retailer carried out work, which included moving checkouts, the erection of barrier gates and associated electrical works.
A new Hotel Chocolat shop and cafe is set to open in St Andrews later this month.
The luxury chocolate chain will open in the old Superdrug unit on Market Street on June 14.
Dundee bar owner Andrew McMahon, who runs The West House and Top Dog Sports Bar, has taken over the former Boat Brae venue in Newport.
The bar, which sits on the banks of the Tay, has been renamed Shoreline and opened on Friday.
A Dundee pub is in line for a six-figure transformation after its roof was blown off during a storm.
The Charleston Bar has been closed since sustaining severe damage during Storm Arwen in 2021, but plans are now being put in place to bring the pub back to life.
The former Bridge of Allan Social Club is set to reopen as a community pub after major renovations.
Over The Bridge will serve pints and pizza from Inverallan Road in July.
World buffet chain Booffi has opened a new restaurant in the former Kinema building in Dunfermline.
The buffet offers a variety of dishes from different cultures around the world, including Italian, Indian and Chinese.
Perth's South Inch pavilion cafe has been reopened by the team behind Blend Coffee Lounge.
Blend's Sundeep Salins says it's a privilege to become the latest stewards of a venue that holds so many warm memories for the people of Perth.
A new Mediterranean restaurant has opened in the former Gulistan House in Broughty Ferry – but has had to change its name after a legal letter from an Edinburgh hotel firm.
Iftikhar Ahmed had planned to open the venue under the name Le Monde, however, just days before opening, he received a letter stating the name was trademarked.
A new Chinese restaurant named Panda Palace is set to open in Montrose town centre.
An exact opening date has yet to be confirmed for the new Hume Street restaurant, which promises to bring the 'best of Chinese culinary traditions' to the Angus town.
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Starmer steel deal shows Swinney how nationalisation should work
A compelling read it certainly wasn't but it helped pass the time before the sun started to go down and I could think about dinner. Economists have never agreed on the benefits of nationalisation and history is littered with failed examples, particularly in the UK. But the two leaders currently occupying Bute House and Downing Street certainly seem to be in agreement that it's a good thing. And in many cases it is good but it's what you do with the assets as a Government after it is been taken into public control that is the important thing. It is here that John Swinney and Sir Keir Starmer diverge dramatically if recent events are anything to go by. Last week, a £500 million five-year deal was struck between Network Rail and British Steel to help save the Scunthorpe steelworks. British Steel is to supply 337,000 tonnes of rail track, which will secure thousands of manufacturing jobs. Why this is important is that it comes just two months after the UK Government used emergency powers to prevent the blast furnaces from immediate closure. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, said it 'truly transforms the outlook for British Steel and its dedicated workforce in Scunthorpe'. British Steel is to supply a minimum of 337,000 tonnes of long and short rail. A further 80-90,000 tonnes is to be provided by other European manufacturers and deals are expected to be announced shortly, the Department for Transport (DfT) said. In March, Chinese firm Jingye, which bought British Steel in 2020, proposed to shut Scunthorpe's two blast furnaces and other key steelmaking operations. Alan Simpson: The new £144m electric rail line without enough trains Alan Simpson: Build more houses for rural Scots, not tax second home owners Alan Simpson: NatureScot may be threatening a rare mussel it should be protecting Alan Simpson: Scotland's tourism sector needs to be heard before it's too late This came despite months of negotiations and a £500 million co-investment offer from the UK Government. As a result, Jingye launched a consultation which it said would affect between 2,000 and 2,700 jobs. In April, the UK Government used emergency powers to take control of British Steel and continue production at the site. The Scunthorpe plant has been producing steel for Britain's railways since 1865. The Network Rail contract, worth an estimated £500 million, starts on July 1 and is set to provide the company with 80% of its rail needs. To ensure security of supply, Network Rail is set to award smaller contracts to some European manufacturers, who will supply specialist rail products alongside British Steel. The agreement is the first major public procurement since the emergency legislation was passed. Both Network Rail and the Scunthorpe steel plant are both owned by the UK Government and the swift deal is clearly a direct benefit of being nationalised. No need for public procurement rules when both sites are state-owned. The Government sees it as being complimentary to the UK and US trade deal which aims to lower tariffs and protect jobs across key sectors, including steel. The deal also compares to the complete and utter horlicks that the Scottish Government has made following nationalisation of key industries. Ministers, of course, took over the stricken Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow in 2019 after it collapsed into administration. It seemed to be the right decision as the shipyard's main customer was the state-owned ferry body CMAL, so a steady stream of orders should have been expected. Instead the yard is facing an uncertain future after losing out on several publicly funded ferry building contracts. Now ministers have even halted a vital subsidy for the yard that is needed to bring in vital work to keep it alive, it can be development has raised alarm that the yard will not survive beyond any delivery of the much-delayed and over budget CalMac ferry Glen Rosa. The yard's business plan to 2029 assumed that the Scottish Government would sanction a direct award of the small vessel replacement programme. It was an integral part of a plan to deliver a 'sustainable, profitable, efficient and competitive yard'. After it was decided that the £175m contract would go to a competitive tender, CMAL, the state-controlled ferry procurer declared in March that the job to build seven new loch-class electric ferries would go to Poland .It previously awarded two other ferry contracts worth to £220m to Cemre Marin Endustri A.S (Turkey) - with Ferguson Marine again losing out. Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop confirmed a 'substantial subsidy' was needed to allow it to get a direct uncontested contract to build seven new small ferries and secure its future. But she admitted in correspondence with former community safety minister Ash Regan that that subsidy was not justified. Ms Regan has raised concerns that it was 'not the direct award that's the issue it's the unwillingness to put public money behind a public asset'. Ferguson Marine has been dogged with issues with the delivery of ferries Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa which were due online in the first half of 2018. The last estimates suggest the costs of delivery of the vessels for CalMac will have soared to more than five times the original £97m cost. The shipyard firm currently employs more than 400 staff including over 100 sub-contractors. Goodness knows how they must be feeling, knowing full well that the Scottish Government is in the process of sinking the yard once and for all. For all the arguments against nationalisation, no book on economics will ever list sheer incompetence by Government ministers as a reason it will fail. While there are very good reasons that the yard is struggling, one of the main reasons is the sheer complexity of the two ferries which have made them very difficult to build. As it was the current administration that insisted on the specifications of being dual fuel and 'green' then it seems extremely harsh for ministers to now throw the workforce under a bus. Sir Keir Starmer's Government has shown exactly how nationalisation should work for the benefit of the workforce and the economy as a whole. For it to be a success, there has to be a will, strategy and above all, economic competence amongst ministers. Ministers at Holyrood have shown none of that and the Ferguson's workforce and islanders have been left high and dry as a result.


Fashion United
2 hours ago
- Fashion United
Fashion brands brace for China's export shift
Facing escalating tariffs from the U.S. and political uncertainty, Chinese manufacturers are rapidly refocusing their export strategies, shifting their gaze to Europe, Southeast Asia, and domestic e-commerce in a bid to weather the latest rupture in global trade. According to the Financial Times, exports to Europe surged 12 percent in May, with Germany alone up 22 percent year-on-year, as factories across Zhejiang, the country's second-largest exporting province, work to secure new clients in markets less volatile than the U.S. For global fashion and retail brands that depend on China's robust manufacturing base, this pivot could reshape sourcing dynamics and pricing structures. 'We're very eager, we can make anything,' said Xia Shukun of Shaoxing Sulong Outdoor Technology, which is courting new European clients. Yet with this eastward tilt comes rising competition. European buyers, once dependent on a smaller pool of Chinese suppliers, now face a deluge of low-cost offerings, threatening established relationships and price stability. 'This is the toughest year yet,' said Vera Wu told the FT, whose company supplies accessories to Lidl and Ikea. As Beijing doubles down on cross-border e-commerce and subsidises overseas trade shows, the fashion industry may need to prepare for what EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called 'a new China shock', one where overcapacity, not just geopolitics, floods the global market.


NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
In Indianapolis, with largest U.S. Burmese population, tariffs and travel ban hit hard
In Indianapolis, Than Hre, the Burmese-born owner of Chin Brothers Restaurant & Grocery, stands behind his counter tallying receipts that tell the story of a business under pressure. Over the past year, he says, the profit margin for his restaurant and grocery business has dropped from around 35% to about 10% as tariffs and shipping costs have driven up the price of rice and Burmese staples by as much as 40%. The same is true for numerous other businesses in Indianapolis, the city with the largest Burmese community in the United States, at 30,000 people, according to the Burmese American Community Institute. Tariffs on importing Myanmar goods have risen to 45%, driving up the cost of staples like rice and spices and creating significant challenges for Burmese businesses across the United States. 'It's hard because we cannot increase the prices, yet if we do, we're going to lose customers,' said Hre, 48. On top of the tariff toll, it has been a struggle for Burmese in the United States as the travel ban blocks nearly all travel and immigration from Myanmar, halting family reunifications and student visas as the country faces civil war and forced conscription. The emotional toll is compounded by the civil war in Myanmar, which has made communication with relatives nearly impossible because of frequent Wi-Fi blackouts and government crackdowns, according to Tha Zi, owner of Mommy Thai, an Asian restaurant serving Burmese, Chinese and Thai food in a a small, family-run spot on the Southside of Indianapolis. 'Sometimes the Wi-Fi is cut off for days,' Zi said, making it nearly impossible to check whether her relatives are safe. She said that her cousin was supposed to come to the United States for college but that the new travel ban means her visa was denied and she's now stuck in Myanmar. Stories like theirs echo across the community as families worry about loved ones facing forced military conscription, bombings and the uncertainty of war — all while trying to keep their businesses afloat in Indiana. To help recover profits, Hre has cut back on inventory, and he orders product conservatively — by box now, instead of pallet. He doesn't need to cut back on staff as he relies on his three sons and wife to keep the family business afloat, joking that he can pay them in more Burmese food. Most Burmese families arrived in the United States as refugees, fleeing harsh military rule, ethnic persecution and ongoing civil war in Myanmar. The first wave came after the 1962 military coup and continued through the 1980s and the 1990s, but the largest influx began in the mid-2000s as the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program prioritized those escaping religious and ethnic violence, especially among the Chin, Karen and Rohingya minorities. Affordable housing, job opportunities like factory work and a strong network of Christian churches made Indianapolis especially attractive for Chin and other ethnic minorities. As more Burmese settled in the city, secondary migration followed — new arrivals and even refugees initially placed in other states moved to Indianapolis to join family and friends and benefit from the established community and support systems. At Mommy Thai, Zi, the owner, describes how rising costs for meat and authentic noodles have made it difficult to keep the doors open, even though most of her ingredients are sourced domestically. 'The price of meat is really high, and the noodles that we use for authentic dishes, the price has gone up a lot because of tariffs and shipping,' she said. Zi tries not to raise prices too much, knowing her customer base is mostly families and students, but it's getting hard to keep up, she said. She has had to cut back on specialty menu items and watch as regulars visit less frequently, a trend echoed across the industry as a projected 7% dip in consumer restaurant spending hits small businesses especially hard. Siam Square, a mom-and-pop Thai restaurant in Indianapolis, is also feeling the strain of the tariffs and the travel ban. While the travel ban doesn't directly target Thailand, owner Ed Rudisell said it still has a major impact on his business. About 70% of his staff are Burmese — primarily Chin refugees. The ban means people don't 'have any hope of seeing family from Burma,' Rudisell said, and it creates fear and tension among staff members about their families back home. Rudisell has watched the cost of essential ingredients like garlic nearly double — from $56 to $93 a case — forcing him to raise menu prices twice since January. 'Food costs have gone through the roof,' Rudisell said. But he'd rather raise prices than reduce portion sizes or compromise on quality, as customers expect consistency, he said. Often, importers raise their ingredient prices before the tariffs are officially active, Rudisell said. 'The damage is done,' he said. 'By that point, we've already paid the increased bills.' Zi said the travel ban and the tariffs, meant to address security and trade concerns, instead deepen the challenges facing Burmese-Chin families fleeing violence, instability and economic hardship. The ban suspends both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for Myanmar nationals, squandering hope for reunification or educational opportunities, Zi said. 'My cousin was supposed to come here for college, but now with the travel ban, her visa was denied and she's stuck in Burma,' she said.