It takes a certain kind of creative vision (and nerves of steel) to eye up a warehouse in Govan and imagine a thriving street food market.
And yet, that’s exactly what Jonathan Stipanovsky did when launching the Big Feed back in 2017.
A gamble that, as we now know, has more than paid off.
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Speaking of what inspired him, he said: “I’m a commercial diver by trade and I worked for oil and gas companies.
“The North Sea gets too rough to work in by about October time, so your options are to work elsewhere or take up a project in the UK.
“I’m a big foodie so I would always visit the street food markets in whatever country I was in.
“It was always in my mind to start somewhere like that in Glasgow.”
The seed of an idea began to grow for Jonathan as he asked himself how he could turn his passion for food into a full time job.
Interestingly, his original ambitions were on a much smaller scale than what he has now achieved.
He said: “Around 2016 there was a real explosion of the Streetfood scene in places like Manchester or Liverpool, but it felt like it hadn’t quite reached Glasgow yet.
“At first, I was only looking to go into business as a trader.
“I had noticed on a trip to London that gourmet hotdogs had become really popular.
“Myself and a friend decided to buy and old French fire engine that we had imported and then converted into Firedog, our own Streetfood truck.
“That’s been a part of Big Feed from the start, it’s what kicked everything off.”
Firedog was a hit with the people of Glagow as the team started to attend as many independent markets as they could around the city.
What quickly became clear to Jonathan as he became more involved in planning and organising was that there simply weren’t enough opportunities for the city’s talented street food chefs to flourish.
As it turns out, that warehouse in the city’s Southside would prove to be the perfect solution.
With the help of local charity, Glasgow The Caring City who own the warehouse, the Big Feed would soon become the vibrant Southside hub that it is now.
He said: “I’m glad that the Big Feed found its home in Govan.
“I’m from the Southside myself so I always knew that I wanted to start it there.
“When we found the warehouse a good few friends of mine, who have since had to eat their words, told me that it would never work.
“The feeling at the time was that food markets were a West End thing.
“I think we managed to find a real sweet spot in terms of location that’s allowed it to become something really special.
“Nowadays it's grown into exactly what we wanted which is a social hub for the community.”
The Big Feed opened in 2017 and has since nurtured some of the finest culinary talents that Glasgow has to offer.
The huge space has room for 300 people and hosts a revolving set of street food vendors serving everything from Sri Lankan curries to espresso maritnis.
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Not only that, but they have expanded to support numerous local musicians who play live at every event, cementing the Big Feed as a real cultural asset to the city, as well as keeping its people full.
As talk turns to their plans to cater for this years TRNSMT and Riverside festivals it appears that the possibilities are endless for Jonathan and his team.
Speaking of their shared success he said: “Right from the start we’ve had so many talented traders who have gone on to open their own places.
“There was Shrimpwreck who have just set up in Portobello, Chompsky who went on to becom Gnom and Julie from Julie’s Kopitiam.
“It’s all grown so organically from when we started and what’s great is its been so much fun.
“There was no genius masterplan, but if you keep all your options open and keep working then it’s amazing where it will get you.”
The Big Feed is open for its first events of the year this Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 at 249 Govan Road.
For more information follow them on Facebook here.
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