Last week, Daryl Collins realised his lifetime ambition to open a coffee shop.
His ‘Kettle-Home’ venture serves ethical coffee and sweet treats, and from tomorrow the two on-site tennis courts will open for the season.
Daryl said: “I’ve always wanted to open a coffee shop, and I moved to Kettleholm Village three years ago and saw the hall was not used very often.
“It looked amazing inside and had a lot of character and I knew that this was the place I wanted a coffee shop.
“I have a real passion for quality coffee that has ethical roots which support farmers. Our coffee is also organic.”
Daryl rents the building from Castlemilk Estate and as well as running the hall as a coffee shop, he manages it as a community space.
He said: “Our plan for the main hall is to open it up for public use, we charge different rates depending on the use.
“The main hall is run not for profit, and it’s reinvested back in to the main hall or the village itself.”
Yearly memberships for the tennis courts are available, as well as weekly memberships for holidaymakers from nearby Hoddom Caravan Park.
In the next year Daryl plans to clear the grounds to the right of the building, down to the river for forestry seating and a children’s play area. In December last year Daryl hosted a Christmas Fayre in the hall with stalls selling books, toys, local produce and handmade items.
He is now working on plans to mark the Queen’s Jubilee in June.
