An Edinburgh couple have transformed an old office unit into a popular café serving locally sourced artisan foods in the heart of Saughton.
Amy Minto, 27, and David Boyle, 30, who have recently moved to Corstorphine, opened The Bonnie Barista just over three weeks ago and have already welcomed over 2,000 customers through their door.
David, who is also the managing director of iFire UK, says that they came up with the idea after he had moved to a bigger office space and their old unit had lay empty throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
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They say that they were motivated after they found there were ‘nice locally’ for David to meet clients for a coffee to discuss business.
On starting their new venture together, he said: “My girlfriend Amy and I opened The Bonnie Barista just a few weeks ago. It used to be my office until we moved out to a bigger unit.
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“It lay empty throughout covid until we decided to open it as a coffee shop. It is ideal as my new office is only 80 metres away.
“I always thought it was annoying there was nowhere nice locally to get a nice lunch or to sit and have a coffee with anyone. I was always forced to drive away from the area to have meetings outside of my office.
“Given this we thought why not open a coffee shop here? Saughton Park has just had the £4.5m regeneration and the entire area is on the rise.
“When we bought the unit eight years ago the whole corner was a bit run down, but it now has a row of good reputable companies which has transformed the look drastically.
“We’re getting loads of dog walkers coming in saying how amazing it is to have an independently run coffee shop in this area which is more modern. Amy and myself put our savings in to fund the transformation.
“Our products are sourced locally from some really good home bakers and some other things are prepared at the Sun Inn in Eskbank which is run by Amy’s parents.”
David says that Amy’s background is in restaurants, as her parents have owned over 30 restaurants, bars and coffee shops over the years, including the Sun Inn in Eskbank which provides the business with products specifically for their café.
The café offers a variety of sweet treats and more savoury bites alongside their delicious and expertly sourced coffee.
He added: “We opened three weeks ago and have already had over 2000 customers which is amazing! The decision to open and the extreme hard work we have put in after being let down by so many joiners and shopfitters is all paying off with how amazing our customers have been and how they have said it will improve the area.
“We’ve had one old man come along most days to sit outside and have a coffee who lives just round the corner, he opened up and said he hadn’t been out much since covid as there was nowhere to go or no one for him to see.
“Now he’s enjoying a short walk along to the shop. It’s honestly a delight to be in the environment when you hear stories like that coming back from the customers!
“We’re engaging with the community, hired a local woman and are due to have another local lad join us soon. We are on the hunt for another member to join the team. We’re dog friendly and have pupachinos flying out the door!”
You can visit the new café at 219 Balgreen Road and also visit their Instagram by clicking here.
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