Dunfermline pubs: Tappie Toories to reopen as Monty's rock bar

Tappie Toories has long been associated with the Dunfermline Athletic supporters who have frequented the establishment for years.

However, in September it closed due to financial pressures including rising costs of alcohol and electricity.

Now the pub has a new leaseholder who plans to turn the space into the reincarnation of Monty’s rock bar, which previously sat on Guildhall Street and is now The Dugg House.

Leaseholder Lanah Copeland was the previous manager. She said: “If I’m honest, when we gave up Monty's last year, I knew that if a pub came up in the town that wasn’t tied to a brewery and was more affordable, I would jump on the chance.

“I’m overwhelmed with the support I’ve had so far.

“I’ve worked in pretty much every bar in this town, and I’ve been hearing from various people all year about how much they miss Monty's.

“Obviously, it’s the Dugg House now, which is doing very well, but our customers very much like the rock music and because it’s a different genre now they’ve kind of went elsewhere.”Monty's was decked out in rock themed decorations. (Image: Monty's) Speaking about the new premises, she said: “I am hoping to retain some of the Tappies regulars. The pub’s been an absolute staple in Dunfermline for years, and it was one of the first pubs that I ever drank in.

“My great grandad used to work in it when it was the Cartwheel in the 60s before Stuart even had it.

 “The upstairs bar has a lot of potential. It’s not as big as the Monty’s one was but you can still comfortably fit about 40 to 50 people standing so I’m planning on utilising that.

“There’s still quite a few Pars tops in the glass cages, and if you remember downstairs at Monty’s, we had all the rugby tops because it was a very big rugby bar.

“We’ll still have that because we kept a lot of the stuff from the rock bar, but we’ll try and incorporate it around what’s already there at Tappies.

“There’s stuff from Stuart Adamson in there so we'll make sure that it all stays because it’s his legacy.”

Miss Copeland does hope to change the name of the pub to Monty’s. She said: “The pub has had a lot of bother over the years with people thinking it’s a rough place. It’s not really rough at all but it’s always had that type of reputation.

“I’d like to get the Monty’s reputation back where we’re one of the few bars in town that doesn’t need a bouncer, but if I have to keep the name as Tappies I will.”

The Press recently reported that the City’s pubs are facing crisis point, with spiralling costs that put one in ten UK establishments at imminent risk of closure.

Miss Copeland said: “I’ll probably be predominantly doing most of the weekday shifts myself, and any staff I take on will be strictly for Fridays and Saturdays.

“When we had Monty’s, we had things like the most successful quiz and had the Jam nights on. We’re hoping to get a lot of those customers back in.”