THE Glasgow Times is featuring the six candidates hoping to be voted Glasgow's Favourite Business for 2024.   

This year's nominees are Boveda Hair & Beauty, Café Gandolfi, Clyde 1, Glasgow Film Theatre, Nursery Story and Waverley Excursions Ltd.   

The award, sponsored by this paper, is part of the Glasgow Business Awards organised by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.    

"OUR mantra is ‘businesses and communities working together’," Donna McArthur says of her Maryhill hair and beauty salon. 

Boveda Hair & Beauty has been welcoming clients in North Glasgow for more than 35 years, offering a wide range of services from haircuts and colour to acrylic nails and waxing.  

But it’s their community work which also makes them stand out among the crowd. 

Donna, salon director, explained: "We’re very community based, and we’ve got a very strong community ethos. 

"When we first opened, we held a fundraiser for East Park School which was our charity of choice, and we had a fundraiser for them in conjunction with John Paul Academy. 

"Then two years ago we had a garden party and raised money for the school so all the clients know we have this strong connection.  

"We do a coat drive every year as well. Round about October we have a big social media campaign and the majority of our clients go and buy coats, jackets, shoes, gloves, hats, scarves and we donate them to the local schools for children.  

"We sponsored the local football team and we sponsored six children from St Mary’s Primary School to go on the school trip that couldn’t afford to go."

(Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Donna, 57, grew up in Maryhill on Kilmun Street and first started working in a salon at the age of 16.  

At 19 years old, she started renting her first salon before buying it at 21.  

After 30 years there, Boveda moved to its current site at 1944 Maryhill Road seven years ago, taking over the former Royal Bank of Scotland building, where Donna used to bring her "pennies" as a child saying "never did I ever think I would end up owning it".  

She says she wanted to give back to the community she grew up in because she believes "if business take care of communities, communities will take care of businesses".  

Donna said: "It’s in my DNA, I do believe in business and communities working together, I practice what I preach.  

"I'm from Maryhill and one of the reasons we sponsored the kids to go on the school trip was I went to St Mary’s Primary School and I never got to go on the school trip because my mum and dad couldn’t afford it.  

"So, I felt we could pay it forward."

(Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Donna says the team at Bodeva were "excited and thrilled" to learn they had been nominated for Glasgow’s Favourite Business.  

She said: "We’re delighted to be nominated and in the final. 

"It was a big surprise, a really pleasant surprise, and it gave all the team a good boost."

The winner of The Glasgow Times Award for Glasgow's Favourite Business will be revealed at the annual Glasgow Business Awards at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central on Thursday, October 3, 2024. Voting closes at midnight on August 30, 2024.   

Place your vote for The Glasgow Times Award for Glasgow's Favourite Business HERE or www.glasgowbusinessawards.com/glasgows-favourite-business-poll/.