Pub operator JD Wetherspoon is to open its new pub in Edinburgh on Tuesday, December 13, with the creation of 124 new jobs.
The company has spent £2.5 million developing the outlet, on the site of former live music venue The Picture House, in Lothian Road.
The Wetherspoon pub, which will be called The Caley Picture House, will be managed by Matthew Knowles.
The Grade ‘B’ listed building was originally the Caley Picture House, which opened on January 1, 1923 with a silent film ‘Game of Life’. In 1928, the building was enlarged for the new ‘talkies’, with an imposing entrance block added at the right-hand side (31 Lothian Road).
The new block, with its large stained glass window, was converted from a temperance hotel, while the original cinema was a partial conversion of the County Hotel. The site of both hotels is marked on the 1876 OS Map as a single property – the Commercial Hotel and Tavern, also recorded on the map of 1846.
The last picture show at the Caley was in 1984. The landmark cinema became a nightclub named the Caley Palais, renamed Century 2000 and Revolution. The building later stood empty for several years, until it re-opened, in 2008, as The Picture House, closing on December 31, 2013.
The new pub will be open from 7am until 1am, seven days a week. Food will be served throughout the day, from opening until 11pm, every day.
The Caley Picture House will specialise in real ales, as well as craft and world beers, serving a wide range of different draught ales, as well as bottled beers, including those from local and regional brewers.
It will be open for family dining, with children, accompanied by an adult, welcome in the pub up until 10pm, throughout the week.
The pub will be wheelchair accessible and have a specially-adapted toilet for people with disabilities.
The new-look pub will feature two bars, one on the first floor and a smaller bar on the balcony level, as well as a pavement café-style area to the front of the main entrance.
The interior design has a contemporary edge, a modern take on classic art deco, with striking black and gold tones throughout.
Historical photos, details of local history and information, as well as a mix of artwork are all on display. The artwork has been mostly designed in house, with art deco influences, to compliment the scheme.
Manager Matthew Knowles said: “Myself and my team are looking forward to welcoming customers into the pub and we are confident that it will be a great addition to the Edinburgh community.”
The company already runs The Standing Order and The Alexander Graham Bell, both in George Street, The Booking Office, on Waverley Bridge, The Playfair at the Omni Centre, Leith Walk, The Foot of the Walk, in Constitution Street, Leith, as well as The White Lady, in St John’s Road, Corstorphine.