A Scots dad left his family shocked after setting up a new business - without his family ever realising. Callum Anderson will be opening the doors to Ian's Wee Cafe in a matter of weeks, after spending months keeping it a secret from his relatives.
Despite the Midlothian-based eatery being in the works for a good while, the family were only let in on the secret just last weekend. But although he kept it from his loved ones, Callum hopes they will all play a part in its success.
One relative who sadly won't get to see the cafe opening is Callum's dad, Ian. Callum said he got into cooking as a young man, as a way to help out the family while they all rallied around his dad, who was suffering from health issues. And as a touching nod to that, he has named the venture after his father.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, he said: "Before he passed away, his sort of mobility was limited. I was taught to cook by him, either being in his chair or through the bedroom, just shooting sort of order through to the bedroom and how to cook things sort of step by step.
"Since then sort of my passion has just become stronger. With dad it took a bit of a downward spiral, but he's always sort of been unwell for sort of, most of my life."
Sadly, Ian suffered from a number of illnesses throughout his life. After a short battle with cancer, Ian passed away in 2006. Now, more than 17 years after his death, his son hopes to honour him with the new cafe.
Callum, who shares two boys - Callen and Cameron - with fiancee Louise, kept the project a secret from his mum, Margaret, and grandmother, Isobel. Speaking about breaking the news to his loved ones, Callum said: "Mum may have also shed a tear when she noticed the sign. We created a pub style hanging sign, with the photo of dad."
The family now hope that the cafe will become somewhat of a community hub, with Callum adding: "Speaking to locals in the community they're looking to have a nice sort of proper, traditional, welcoming and warm café. It's not the biggest café, we've got between 14 to 20 covers. We're hoping to open to the public on July 1."
Callum said that, aside from the struggles of opening a new business, keeping the surprise for his family was more difficult. He added: "It's not the easiest thing, procuring equipment and uniforms and signage and leaflets and trying to keep everything hidden.
"The other half thought she might've been on to us, but she wasn't. Or at least she's very good at hiding it. I even went to the extreme step of going onto the cafe's Facebook page and blocking her."
Now that the Anderson family all know about Ian's Wee Café, they're hiring for staff and are looking forward to welcoming the community. You can find out more about the new spot here.
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