AFTER more than five months of uncertainty there has been positive news for a popular Dunfermline cafe as repair work gets underway.

Cafe Wynd in the city centre closed in November to have a new floor fitted. However it was then discovered that up to a decade's worth of water damage from a leaking pipe would mean a new foundation for the building.

Owner Stewart Forrest says that the Cross Wynd eatery will aim to re-open at the beginning of June with a new look, turning weeks of bad news into a positive reason for refurbishment.

He said: "Works will probably finish mid-May but I remember when we first opened, we opened two weeks after getting the keys, which was a bit mental.

"We are going to make sure it's absolutely top-notch.

"It's going to look different as well, everything that you see has been ripped out, the snug, everything.

"We will have to rebuild everything which is intimidating but at the same time we are trying to be positive because it's a good opportunity to do something different.

"We are going to be going full pelt and make it more evening-friendly and hopefully introduce some later closing times in the Summer to encourage people to come for a glass of wine."

The original issue was flagged in May of last year after a neighbouring business investigated an ongoing leak which was sourced to a pipe directly beneath Cafe Wynd.

Since then Stewart has faced months of "frustrating" set-backs, which he believes may have been preventable had action been taken earlier.

However, he is taking it in his stride and is looking forward to welcoming customers back this summer.

He said: "It's slowly getting there, I think the original issue was flagged in May last year so it has taken almost a year now to get this sorted.

"We are massively thankful it is getting started.

"It has been very stressful but you've got to stay positive and try to bring something new to Dunfermline again which we did five years ago and we will try to do it again.

"We're really excited about the refurb, it's going to look very different.

"We are going to push for evenings more and monthly nights with a different menu."

Since Cafe Wynd opened in February 2018 it has been closed each year for roofing and maintenance, as well as during pandemic restrictions.

Stewart added: "As the tenant we've had to spend a lot of money maintaining that building, we've had to deal with a hell of a lot with the building and COVID.

"It's miraculous we are still going, COVID hit us very hard but we adapted well to it.

"We've done well and I am hoping this is the last hurdle and we can go full pelt now and do what we always intended to do."