Ullapool’s Oak and Grain open new pizzeria in former Costcutter building
A NEW Ullapool pizzeria has officially opened for business, after renovating a derelict eyesore into a sleek new eatery.
Dan and Adele Connell this month finally opened their highly-anticipated new Oak and Grain pizzeria in the former Costcutter building on West Argyle Street, Ullapool.
Oak and Grain’s journey started in 2021 when Dan had a bad diving accident while working offshore, leading him and Adele to move back home near family.
Dan, from Scoraig, said: “At the time, we didn’t really know what to do. I had been making pizzas in the garden, and that’s where the idea for the business stemmed from — it was like turning a hobby into a business, but we didn’t know how well it would do as a business.”
But when Oak and Grain opened their pizza van outside the Lochbroom Free Church in spring 2022, the wood-fired pizzas proved to be a hit amongst locals and visitors alike.
Dan and Adele then decided to take on their next challenge, of renovating the former Costcutter building that had laid dormant for over 11 years.
“It’s been quite a project,” said Dan. “We officially started building work on January 28, but prior to that we were stripping everything back to a shell. We managed to get it done quite quickly really, with a lot of support from family members and a lot of good tradespeople helping us — it made a huge difference. Our landlord has invested a fair bit of money into it, and we are not far off investing £100k into it.
“The offshore diving community also managed to raise some money to go towards the renovation — my ex-colleagues have been really supportive following my accident.
“We’ve only been open for a few days, but we’ve had a lot of local support already. The Ullapool Harbour have been amazing, storing some of the stuff we bought in auctions, and Ian Napier down the harbour also helped out with a forklift to put in the oven. They’ve been a massive support.
“It was nice managing to open just before Easter. We are running as just a takeaway at the moment, partially because we need to train up some new staff and iron out a few things. I think in early May we are going to introduce seating, and start doing desserts as well as simple starters.
“It’s been a labour of love, that’s for sure!”
