A historic building has been revamped into an art gallery and wine bar in Swansea.
The Ice House in SA1 is one of only two remaining dockside ice factories in the country. It was bought by the Coastal Galleries group and officially reopened by Argentinean artist Fabian Perez.
Coastal Galleries, which also runs galleries in Narberth and Saundersfoot, has invested £80,000 into transforming the Grade II listed building.The firm is run by partners Chris Elliott and Lorna Coppin who were on hand to meet around 150 visitors at its preview launch on Sunday.
Mr Elliott said: "It went really well. It was busy all the time and quite a few sales went through."
The Ice House will officially open to the public on Saturday and operate every day.
It will stock artwork ranging in price from £100 to £60,000, as well as wines and bottled beers in its wine bar area which can cater for up to 150 people.
Mr Elliott has been involved in the art business for around 15 years and said his latest venture in Swansea would be good for the local economy.
He said: "The Ice House will be quite a draw for people. A lot of our customers come from quite far away. A lot of people were unsure what kind of response we would get here but it is such an interesting concept and such an interesting building that we are very confident it is going to work."
Coastal Galleries is also planning to bring celebrity artist Rolf Harris to the Ice House for an exhibition in the new year to tie in with the star's 80th birthday celebrations.
The business will operate its gallery from 9.30am until around 6pm and its wine bar will be open until 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights.
Mr Elliott said Mr Perez said the Ice House was one of the best galleries he had ever been in.
South Wales Evening Post, Tuesday, 24 November, 2009.
