Spoons Coffee House in Paisley are delighted after having been selected for the honour at Scotland’s Business Awards on Sunday, May 7.
The Causeyside Street establishment was named Best Cafe in Renfrewshire following a public vote and assessment by a mystery shopper.
“To hear our name called out as winning against all these other Renfrewshire cafes, was a really good feeling. It’s given us a sense of pride and that we’re doing something right,” said James Carmichael, owner of Spoons.
The cafe is doing a good trade nowadays but that wasn’t always the case, with James setting up the business just days before the declaration of the first Covid-19 lockdown.
The signs were up, the floor was laid, the tables and chairs were set and he had an opening date lined up.
It all looked as if James –who was also set to become a first-time dad – was about to embark on the adventure he’d always dreamed of.
But then, on the day he was due to open, he was told he’d have to put his plans on hold due to the pandemic.
He eventually opened the shop in August 2020, but by that point Paisley had become somewhat of a ghost town.
James said: “I quit my job on March 19 and we were due to open on the 20th, but environmental health told us that wasn’t possible.
“Before that, I’d done my due diligence, scouted out the street, counting potential customers walking up and down, and thought to myself, ‘this is a great spot, it’s busy, you’ve got the train station just there, all the bus stops, all the other businesses’.
“And then when we finally opened in August, there was no one on the street.”
Despite the initial turbulence, Spoons has grown to accommodate a loyal customer base, something James puts down to their quality coffee beans and friendly customer service.
James works at the cafe with his wife and brother and he says “we tend to have a laugh and a joke with customers”.
James added: “I’d like to thank all of our loyal customers in Paisley and all of the staff that work for us.”
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