THE former owners of a restaurant and garden centre have given a heartfelt farewell to their customers but revealed future plans to expand their operation elsewhere.

In a surprise move, it was announced that the Rowan Tree restaurant and garden centre on the A78 between Seamill and Ardrossan had been sold by David Castelvecchi and Abi Cox after 20 years. 

The former Little Chef premises will be taken over by GRO Coffee owner and founder Gordon Rennie, adding to their existing portfolio which includes Irvine and Ayr.

A £1.5 million investment is planned, with hopes for it to re-open next summer to crowds of eager customers.

David and Abi have revealed that it is not the end of their business, despite closing the doors of their popular eatery and garden centre last week, but as one door closes another one is set to open.

The pair said: "On Sunday, we closed our doors to the public for the final time. 

"We have instructed Sweeney Kincaid in Glasgow to sell all goods, equipment, stock etc by online auction.

"We now have 20 plus years of kitchen equipment, Christmas and Halloween stuff to sort through

"We are racing the clock now, so we wasted no time last night and got stuck straight in sorting everything into lots. Our team have done a great job helping us today.

"It's good news all round. Gro is expanding into another premises and we are also expanding into bigger premises, so it is a win, win for everyone."

In recent years, David and Abi have taken over the running of Haylie Stores based in Largs which they have been running in tandem with their Rowan Tree operation, and will be continuing to run the Largs business.
The pair have urged their customers to keep an eye on their Rowan Tree, Gardening and Catering Services Facebook page for more updates on their exciting plans for the future.