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Vintage and Vinegars, a new shop selling cider vinegar and antique furniture, is planned for Montrose.

Husband and wife Alan and Nikcy Knox have been crafting cider vinegars together for the last two years and selling them in various shops.

Now they are gearing up to open their own shop on Montrose High Street.

Vintage and Vinegars will sell No Grief Aperitif, the couple’s new range of alcohol-free apple cider vinegar drinks.

“We decided to hone in on the alcohol-free aperitif market,” said Alan.

“Are you ready for what’s coming to Montrose?  It will be the world’s first takeaway vinegar bar.

At the shop customers will be able to take away hot and cold vinegar drinks, diluted with cold, warm or sparkling water.

“So you go to a coffee shop to buy a coffee on your way to work,” Alan continues.

“We’re not trying to change the world, but what if people could have a vinegar option?

“They would take that soft drink to work in a bottle, or walk down the street with the hot version.”

The couple have noticed a change in the younger generation’s attitude towards alcohol.

This has inspired the cider vinegar’s rebrand as an alcohol-free aperitif, and they now have a range of six different cider vinegar flavours.

“We have been selling the vinegars to a health-conscious market,” added Alan.

“And we found that a lot of people were using it as an alternative to alcohol anyway.

“We have discovered that younger people are not taking alcohol for granted the way my generation did.

“It think that grown-up attitude towards alcohol is quite refreshing.”

Their product was included as a  key ingredient of an alcohol-free shot at Aberdeen’s first sober bar which opened last October.

“A lot of other alcohol-free drinks can be filled with sugar and flavourings,” Nikcy noted.

“But ours is completely real.  It’s the raw vinegar, raw botanicals and mainly organic ingredients.”

After some updates to the space – including painting on the windows – they are aiming to open at 172 High Street near the end of March.

Nikcy, who used to work as an antiques dealer, is looking forward to upcycling furniture for the shop.

The couple will fill the upstairs level of the unit with antique furniture, which they will arrange to mimic real rooms.

Alan jokes: “Think it like the antique version of Ikea.”

While downstairs, the couple will craft the cider vinegars.”

The couple will also sell other products made by local people, including pickles, jewellery and more.

Ahead of the opening, they have been working with organisation ProMo, which aims to “revitalise Montrose town centre”.

Alan adds: “When you look around the whole of Scotland, you see a lot of high streets are becoming the same everywhere.

“I think having something that’s a bit different will generate attention.

“We’d love to be part of the high street and part of that community.”

This article appeared in The Courier Food & Drink Supplement on 7 March 2026