AN ARTISAN coffee and cafe franchise is set to breathe new life into Dunfermline by taking over the old McDonald’s building on High Street.

Bob & Berts has been making quite a name for itself in its homeland of Northern Ireland but they’re crossing the water with 20 new stores planned.

Dunfermline will be the second store to open in Scotland with 30-40 new jobs expected to be created.

Founder Colin McClean told the Press: “We expect our builders to start work at the site around September and it should take them four or five weeks to complete the refurbishment.

“So, we’ll certainly be looking at an Autumn opening. We’ve spent a lot of time in Scotland – we think the people and culture is very similar to Northern Ireland.

“We’re looking forward to being in Dunfermline. The High Street has a great atmosphere about it and we’ll be right next to the shopping centre and big brands.

“When we made the decision to go to Scotland we drove around a lot of town’s and we thought Dunfermline was great. We’re very excited to be there.”

Bob & Berts began in 2013 in Portstewart and they now have 17 stores in Northern Ireland. The company also plan to open stores in England. The cafe offers artisan coffees, a breakfast and lunch menu with a range of burgers, hot dogs and salads.

Colin added: “I think the reason why we’ve taken off is that people are a bit sick of the generic coffee shops such as Starbucks and they want something different. There are two strands to us, we have great coffee and fresh food and most things are supplied locally.

“We started off in a small place, very much part of the community so I think we’ve got a feel to us that’s quite unique, even the decor is different.”

Bob & Berts will be leasing the High Street premises from McDonald’s but first they will have to get planning permission to change signs.

The premises have been empty since November 2013 when the fast food chain disappeared from the town centre.

The company will keep decorations quite minimalistic with plans to keep the original structure in place. They also hope to have outside seating contained in wicket fencing.

Dunfermline Central Councillor Garry Haldane said: “It’s a bonus for the High Street, it will be opening up that building again in a prominent place in our town centre.

“The more businesses we can attract to the area the better. Once again we are showing we are gaining more businesses then losing them, unlike other places in Scotland. I think that is credit to our town and the people who are working hard to attract businesses such as Dunfermline Delivers.”