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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Gregor Farquharson

Former Tory councillor aiming for sweet success with 'honesty' cake shop in Wishaw

Keen baker and former North Lanarkshire councillor, Trevor Douglas has opened a new cake shop in Wishaw.

Called Bonkle Bakes, he is using the outlet to sell his homemade sweet treats.

The ex-Airdrie representative said he has baked all his life and admits that selling his own cakes is something he has wanted to do for some time.

The shop, which operates out of a converted greenhouse on Murdostoun Road, uses an honesty system.

This means that customers are trusted to pay the correct money for the goods that they take.

So far, Trevor says that his venture has been a great success.

He told Lanarkshire Live: "I started thinking about setting up a store last year and have spent time planning it all since.

"I have been baking all my life, I have northern Irish roots and baking is a huge thing there.

The cafe uses an honesty system (Stuart Vance/ReachPlc)

"Growing up we would never buy bread or cakes, it would always be made fresh.

"When I knew I was going to open Bonkle Bakes, I went and looked through all the old recipe books that my mum used to have.

"I spent a good while finding the perfect ingredients to make sure they are the best possible quality cakes."

The shop is open every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9am, and closes whenever the products sell out.

As well as handmade sweet treats, there is also a fully stocked fridge of cold drinks and a coffee machine.

The honesty system allows Trevor to not be at the greenhouse all the time, and he has said this has been a huge benefit.

As well as baked good, customers can enjoy hot and cold drinks (Stuart Vance/ReachPlc)

He explained: "Having the shop run on an honesty system is perfect for me. I don't need to be there all the time and I can focus on other things.

"It allows me to be with my dad a lot more, which is good as he hasn't been great recently.

"It also means I have a lot of time to bake more goods for the shop itself.

"Generally people assume that things will go wrong with an honesty box, but people are genuinely nice and honest.

"There is a camera in there to deter people from doing any wrong but so far everyone has paid the right amount and left the place really tidy.

"People can leave notes, coins, pay via PayPal or even bank transfer me the funds. All the details are on the wall of the greenhouse.

"This is a long term project and I am so happy I have had all this support so far."

And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Why not head to our page and give us a like and share.

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