Glasgowist: Finnieston favourite Five March to open West End coffee shop

Five March is the stylish gastopub run by Joanna Nethery and Kevin Small on Elderslie Street, beside Kelvingrove Park. They successfully created a space for friends, food drinks and good times with a range of innovative small plates and a sharp cocktail selection. For their next trick, they are opening a coffee shop on Great Western Road.

Morning Glory by Five March is in the last stages of preparation with an opening date announcement imminent. “Alongside our own food we will be stocking gloriously delicious local produce and bringing you lovely ethical goodies to enjoy” they say. Brunch options will be on the menu with poached eggs set to land on toasted Freedom Bakery sourdough bread. You’ll also be able to pick up a selection of Kitty’s Donuts and coffee to go.

Martha’s Return

Martha’s had been a familiar sight on St Vincent Street for seven years, they had an enthusiastic local following, a presence at Scotstoun Stadium and had launched in the West End. After committing to an expansion plan, one of the directors withdrew from the business last year, Martha’s lost a catering contract and founder Gavin Clark decided he had no other option than to close.

Now Martha’s has re-emerged as a new city-wide delivery service and collection option from Platform at Argyle St Arches. You can expect seasonal, nutritious food including popular dishes like red dragon pork and chipotle chicken, with original boss Gavin back in the kitchen.  

Gavin says he was encouraged by positive messages after closing the business but needed a break before deciding what to do next. “With great support from my family and my partner Suzy, I was able to take four months off. It was definitely a healing time. I did a lot of ‘domestics’, I de-cluttered, eBayed a lot of stuff and completed a lifelong ambition of writing and releasing a record. I teamed up with an old music producer friend and we gave all the proceeds to SAMH, to raise awareness of mental health among Scottish men”.

How did the rebirth of Martha’s come about? “In January I started to look at my career again and interviewed for Director positions within Marketing and Operations. However, in March COVID struck and the job market dried up. But the lockdown had created a new demand for home dining and food delivery that hadn’t existed, and new seeds of opportunity started for some of the hospitality industry.

“Soon after the start of lockdown, I was approached by some great Martha’s regulars with an idea of how Martha’s could be a part of this new world. I can’t say it was something I jumped at, but after several months of discussion and development, a new group of partners was created to relaunch the brand.

“The Martha’s brand and intellectual property was bought from the liquidators by the new partners, Scott McCormick joined from Platform with fantastic kitchen and logistics resources and I was brought in with my operational and brand experience to launch the new business.

“My primary role is to ensure the same values and standards are upheld across everything we do and to create the right starting point to build a great business again. I’ve managed to roll in one of the original senior chefs who stuck with me across 8 years before. He will help to make sure all products are bang on! There are seven years of great recipes to draw from so fans will enjoy some of the original classics and a few new ideas too as things develop. It will be a case of all hands to the pump so I’ll be getting out in the van to meet old faces too.”

New Southside Greengrocer

Former climate change consultant Sophia Harwood Murday found herself looking for a new direction at the beginning of lockdown. She has looked to the past for inspiration and opened a modern day traditional greengrocer. Located at 717 Pollokshaws Road in Strathbungo, Seven One Seven also offers a deli salad bar and home-made take-away foods, and receives a daily supply from a local baker. A forager also brings in seasonal finds to be  snapped up by locals keen to experiment in home cooking.

Sophia said, “Like many of us I was questioning everything and looking for a change. I quickly appreciated the importance of neighbourhood and community during lockdown and realised there was nowhere local that offered basic necessities, like eggs, butter, vegetables, without having to travel further afield to a supermarket.

“A former coffee shop became available and I thought it was now or never and I really had nothing to lose. It has been terrific. My neighbours are my customers, and it serves a purpose which is a great feeling in the current climate. People are keen to shop locally and I see that as an opportunity for high streets to encourage the return of small independents like me”.

Another attraction of Seven One Seven is the speciality coffee which Sophia has sourced from a coffee cooperative in Rwanda. Sholi Coffee enables local farmers to use their washing stations to process their cherries which contain the coffee beans, to create the coffee and improve the financial security for member farmers and the wider community.

Sophia adds, “We’ve had great interest in our coffee as, again during lockdown people have become even more interested in the provenance of food and experimental in cooking at home. The challenges for the food industry really are immense but people have been really supportive and taking their business to independents and I’m encouraged that will continue.”

Found It

Since 2015, Found has been the place to go for design-led furniture, upcycled vintage pieces and interesting lighting. You’ll also pick up Newgate clocks, Stolen Form ceramics and, more recently, an impressive selection of stationary. They are currently preparing to move to a bigger space at 583 Dumbarton Road, next to Meadow Road Coffee. The neighbourhood shop has grown into a much-loved part of the Partick streetscape.

Clyde-built Gin

The Start-Up Drinks Lab, based in Port Glasgow are known for their craft drinks, and their latest launch is a premium gin created and produced by six local Inverclyde locals who have been involved in every stage of the process, including the eye- catching design of the bottle. Inverclyde Gin has its own dedicated small batch bottling facility and is working in the community alongside local bars and restaurants to develop the new Scottish gin brand.