Business / Museum restaurant remains vacant, amenity trust says
SHETLAND Amenity Trust has said there is “no update” on the prospect of a cafe or restaurant returning to the Shetland Museum.
This is despite it being nearly a year to the day that it was announced that Hay’s Dock by The Dowry was to close in the upstairs space amid staffing challenges.
The restaurant was previously run by the amenity trust itself before being leased to Emma Louise’s Coffee Shop in 2019.
When the Dowry took on the lease in 2022 there had not been a cafe in the museum since 2020 when the Covid pandemic hit.
In February this year museum operator the amenity trust said it was “looking for an individual or company with a love of Shetland’s heritage, interested in using the café space to enhance heritage activities and promote employment opportunities”.
But when asked by Shetland News for the latest on the Hay’s Dock situation, the amenity trust said there was no update to provide.
It is not the only cafe up for lease in Lerwick, with the space at the marts also now available from January.
Meanwhile the trust also said it has not ruled out hanging boats returning to the museum.
The traditional wooden boats were removed in 2023 over safety concerns.
But a spokesperson for the amenity trust said its focus is currently on its boat shed project.
They said the organisation was exploring ways to display the once-hung boats within the boat shed as part of the new project, which has been supported by the Coastal Communities fund.
“The space will let visitors get up close to the boats, see traditional skills in action, and experience Shetland’s maritime heritage in a more hands-on way,” the spokesperson said.
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