Apus Peak to replace former Laura Ashley store in Knutsford

The large unit by Tatton Park will be the new home of Apus Peak, created by Kay Tierney and Craig Dulson, which will incorporate lots of different facets of cycling.

The Tatton Street hub, which hopes to open at the end of July, will contain a café, fitness studio, Wattbike classes, cycling retail sports therapy, bike stores and more.

Kay, aged 37, and 48-year-old Craig live just outside of Knutsford and have often cycled to and stopped in the area as a mid-point of a ride.

“I’ve always been really passionate about cycling, old-fashioned hospitality and people, this brings all of those things into it,” said Kay.

“Good food, good people, exercise, fitness and making it a really relaxing place for people to come when they’ve been in Tatton Park or out riding all over the north west and we want to share our passion in the community.”

Craig added: “It’s creating a community, a really nice atmosphere and a buzz for people to come into.

“We want the hub to be something that people visit and spend time here.”

Inside of Apus Peak - Kay Tierney and Craig Dulson's joint venture in Knutsford

The couple, who have four children, have long been admirers of the town.
Kay was a regular visitor of the old deli across the road from their premises.

After looking at different venues, they, by chance, managed to catch the previous owner of the Laura Ashley building who told them he was selling it.

It was sold to Bruntwood next door, Kay and Craig stayed persistent and got their reward.

Kay, who grew up near Ormskirk, continued: “We put the business plan together over lockdown, I looked at it as the creative idea.

“Craig has more of the business brain and we spent months searching for the right premises. We looked all over Knutsford, Lymm and Alderley Edge.

“This was originally supposed to be split into four or two units, but we’ve ended up with the full thing which we’re thrilled to bits about.

“It’s one of those really positive lockdown stories. We were both in completely different corporate careers, I’ve come out of the hospitality industry, Craig was in construction.

“And during lockdown we both came out of those industries, and this has been a passion for such a long time.

“We wanted to create something that with the community in mind, and something that was going to be rewarding for ourselves.

Craig, from the Wirral, is looking forward to the prospect of working with his partner and welcoming customers in the near future.

“It’s completely different from what we’re used to on a day-to-day basis, he said.

“But for us it’s creating a time where we can spend family time together and at the same time working, so that was what lockdown taught us.

“If you can combine the two then all the better.

“It’s a very vibrant town. From a cyclists point of view, you can easily get to the peaks in the Peak District but at the same time, you’ve got all the Cheshire plains so you’ve got the best of both worlds. It ticked all the boxes for us.”