Kilmarnock bridal shop boss reflects on rollercoaster Covid journey after huge refurbishment

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An Ayrshire bridal shop boss admits the two years since opening have been a rollercoaster – and a big one at that. Kathleen Richmond Couture opened its doors in January 2020 and they’ve still not had a solid year without closing.

Covid restrictions since March that year have hammered the wedding industry and had a huge effect on Kitty Richmond’s business in Kilmarnock.The Sturrock Street bridal wedding dress shop is up and running now that weddings are getting back to normal – but Kitty admits it has been a nightmare, saying it got to the point they had to use pencils in their diary to score off dates so often.All of this was after a full refurbishment of a building which needed rebuilt in a project that took Kitty, her husband Barry and his dad between 18 months and two years to complete.Kitty told the Kilmarnock Standard: “We opened in the January of 2020 and then by the March we were totally closed down.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus features, football news and the latest on the coronavirus crisis – at your fingertips 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories while you can customise your page with the sections that matter to you.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now on iOS and Android.“So we’ve not even done a full year yet.

But we have done really well so far – the response to our shop in Kilmarnock has been excellent.“We couldn’t ask for anymore, people are starting to shop local again and they are making a point in coming to our boutique which is great.“I had a bridal alterations shop in Ayr for around 13 years and we actually made dresses so it was just moving on from that.