A POPULAR West Fife chip shop gutted by fire almost two years ago will reopen officially on Sunday.

Ilario's, which has been at the heart of the Kincardine community for 37 years, is back in business after undergoing a complete rebuild following the devastating blaze in 2017.

Riccardo Chicarella, whose father, Ilario, established the business after he moved to the village from Italy 42 years ago, said that while being closed for so long had been "a nightmare", the family was thankful to the village, insisting that "without them, we wouldn't be anything".

Following an informal opening of the shop to coincide with Kincardine Children's Gala at the weekend, Riccardo said: "We have been desperate to get back and it has taken a lot longer than expected – we've had a hard time with insurance but you have to roll with it.

"That's two years we've been shut, which is a long time, and we don't want anyone else to go through that. We've had two years of frustration, and it was a kick in the teeth, but now we're open we should be celebrating and concentrate on moving on.

"The support we've had has been unbelievable; we received 20 bouquets of flowers on Saturday, and we were queued out the door!

"We were taken aback and it is humbling. We've had hundreds of comments online from people saying that they're so happy we're back, and we'd just like to say thank you.

"The family would like to thank everyone who has supported us from when the fire happened to today. Without them, we wouldn't be anything.

"They built us."

Ilario's, who also have an outlet in Oakley, is even popular beyond Kincardine, with people travelling from far and wide to grab a pizza the action, and Riccardo continued: "I think it stems from years ago, before the other (Clackmannanshire) bridge was open, when the Glasgow crowd would travel to places like Burntisland or St Andrews.

"A lot of kids would go with their parents or grandparents and we were the last chip shop before going over the bridge, and our customer base grew from there.

"There have been a number of people saying things like, 'We've missed you', or 'We can't wait to see you back open', and it feels like time has stopped with people waiting for us to open.

"It's a bit surreal but we've been open for nearly 40 years, which has been a long time for my dad, so it's great for him."

Sunday's celebrations, which are set to take place at 3.30pm, will include a performance by Tulliallan Pipes and Drums before a ribbon-cutting ceremony.