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An Arbroath hairdresser and a Ninewells Hospital nurse have revealed plans to open a new wine bar named after their beloved dog.

Danny Laverty, 53, and Paul Johnston, 52, have taken over the former Pende Cafe in the town centre.

They hope to open Lord Rubin’s wine bar in the Market Place venue by the start of November.

The couple, who have been married for 11 years, want to create “something different” in the Angus town.

The dog-friendly wine bar will be decorated with antique furniture and chandeliers.

There are plans to use local distilleries such as Arbikie and Redcastle.

Danny said: “We realise you have to have other things but as much as possible we’re going to try yo buy local.

“The decor is going to be very different because we’re going back in time with the style.

“We’re going to have a baby grand piano, six chandeliers and a lot of antiques.

“We’ll have nice white linen and nice silverware and antique china.

“We really are going a little back in time and a little bit classic, not posh, but just nice.

“That’s where we differ from what’s going on in town.”

The award-winning Pende Cafe shut in 2020 after struggling during the Covid period.

The building has been empty since and Danny says there is “a lot” of work to do before the wine bar is ready to open.

He added: “It’s something I have been thinking about for a long while, but Paul was never quite on board until we saw these premises.

“The cafe was the only empty shop unit.  We were sat in there one day and I said to Paul, ‘I think that’s something waiting to happen’.

“There are lovely places in Arbroath to eat and drink, really well-run pubs, but there’s nothing like we are doing, which is more old-fashioned.

“We are hoping to open at the end of October or the beginning of November.

“There is a lot of work to do, the toilets need gutting, but there is a kitchen and everything there already.

“There’s a lot that’s positive, but there’s a lot to do.

“We don’t want to be hours from opening, scrubbing the floors, we want to be ready.”

The bar is named after the couple’s dog, Rubin, who regularly played a part in their lockdown Facebook videos, which helped raise thousands of pounds for NHS Tayside.

Danny said: “Rubin was Paul’s dog and he was six when Paul and I met, and he was 12 when he passed away.

“He had an amazing attitude and I just thought he was a lord.  I even created a voice for him.

“People have commented (on the name) so much.  He was very much involved in our Saturday night concerts during lockdown, so people knew him.

“If people don’t know who he was, there’s a story there for them,” Danny added.

This article appeared in The Courier on 26 August 2025