Over recent months, a host of new businesses have been springing up on one street in a Co Antrim town.
The entrepreneurs have all recently moved into new premises on West Street in Carrickfergus, breathing new life into what was previously an underutilised part of the town.
To date, four new businesses have opened up next door to one another in recent months and with more in the pipeline, it seems as though West Street is heading for an enterprise revival.
Read more: Carrickfergus charity opening free-to-use sensory room to meet community demand
Sisters-in-law Leanne and Tracy Monaghan are the brains behind NACS . . . Not Another Coffee Shop, which opened its doors last September.
Leanne explained: "My husband bought the building as an investment. It was a run down charity shop and the business all started with Tracy and I joking with my husband that we could open a coffee shop in the building he had just bought.
"We spent all of the lockdown transforming this into the coffee shop. We were lucky as my sister-in-law's husband is a joiner. Tracy and I did all the painting and we are now business partners.
"Neither of us are big coffee drinkers and didn't know anything about the different types of coffee so we really were thrown into the deep end."
Leanne added: "The name came about because as we were renovating, people were asking what we were opening. When we told them, their response was 'not another coffee shop' so the people of Carrick picked it for us!
"It has been a lot of hard work and a lot of learning as neither of us had ever worked in the hospitality industry before but we are growing more confident as the weeks go by.
"We opened the shop last September and have been getting progressively busier but we still have quite a few new people coming in and saying they have only just heard about us.
"The street we opened up on had very few businesses on it but since our opening, three other units have been taken so it's now got four new businesses in a row including ourselves and we all support each other. It's great to see this part of the town coming back to life again."
Tracy added: "Back in the day this would have been a really lively part of Carrick and so many people have come in and said they remember it years ago full of nice shops. All towns have been hit badly at one time or another but across the street other premises are currently being renovated so things are looking up."
Right next door to NACS is Lisa Holmes, who has just expanded her business with the opening of The Strength Loft, a strength facility for women. It's based just around the corner from her other venture, The Yoga Loft.
"During lockdown, I got more into strength and conditioning and we had incorporated that into one of the existing upstairs studios in The Yoga Loft," Lisa told Belfast Live.
"We quickly realised that we needed a ground level premises with a good solid floor so a few months ago I heard about this place becoming available to rent through a chance conversation with another business owner.
"We opened up almost three months ago and so far it's going great. I think a lot of people have the misconception that West Street doesn't get much footfall as it has been looking a bit sad recently but I've found the absolute opposite since moving in here."
Lisa added: "It's brilliant to see the footfall back up and down the street once again. The great thing about Carrickfergus is that when you provide something that people want to use, they'll support it so well.
"Our yoga studio is now open seven years and the wee community of people supporting us around there is fantastic. There are now lots of people popping up and down and more new businesses are coming.
"There are plans for a new hardware store across the street while another couple of people are looking at other units so things are certainly looking up. It's amazing and the more there is on offer, the more people will continue to come and see what we've got."
Next door to Lisa is Mount 10 Gallery, run by father and son team Gary and Warren McCabe and all under the watchful eye of Monty, their springer spaniel.
After many years working in the motor industry, Warren recently took the plunge and turned his hand to framing the work of Gary, a landscape and seascape photographer.
"We actually started off in Lisa's place and had only been open for three weeks when the pandemic hit. We moved to a smaller premises at The Courtyard for just over a year, which was more feasible for us at the time," Warren said.
"As we became much busier we needed more space again so luckily enough the same landlord owned these two buildings on West Street.
"We were a bit wary as it had been quiet on the street when we were last here - it was just us and furniture store that's been here for a long time so we didn't really get a good run. But as the other businesses began opening up, it seemed like the right moment to return.
"We've only been back here for just over a month but already it's going brilliantly. We have a market in the town on the first Saturday of every month at the bottom of the street, which is bringing a lot of people in too.
"There's a lot more planned in terms of new businesses so the street is definitely starting to pick up again at long last," he added.
Read more: WhatsApp scammers pretend to be daughter in bid to steal father's money
Read more: Royal fan decks out Carrickfergus home to celebrate Queen's Platinum Jubilee
To get the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter.
