By Karen Peattie
Independent cafés and roasters across Glasgow have joined forces to help local businesses thrive and compete against the major coffee chains during the coronavirus pandemic by staging a 10-day coffee festival.
Glasgow Coffee Festival, founded by Lisa Lawson of Dear Green Coffee Roasters in 2014, would normally take place at The Briggait arts and cultural venue over a weekend.
This year, however, the festival is a city-wide event with 50 independent coffee businesses participating, all of them following Government guidelines on social distancing and hygiene measures.
The festival, which starts today and runs until October 25, will provide independent café and roaster owners with the opportunity to showcase their businesses at time when they are facing challenges presented by the uncertainty of the current pandemic and also competition from the big coffee chains, she added.
Ms Lawson said: “Great hospitality is what Glasgow is known for and our industry needs support right now. Anyone who starts a coffee shop, a bar or a restaurant takes a massive risk, but in doing so they enrich our community and support our local economy.
She added: “We are showcasing the best cafés Glasgow has to offer, a handpicked list of businesses which have skilled roasters, talented baristas and excellent standards of service."
“At times like this, independent businesses need consumer support. I want to encourage everyone in Glasgow to get around the city and to know where their best local café is, otherwise many small businesses won’t survive this uncertainty.
“By coming together on initiatives like this, we can show strength in numbers and all support one another while encouraging a culture change to support local rather than coffee chains.
"With collaboration and creativity, independent business owners can face the current economic crisis together.”
Lead sponsor La Marzocco has been with the festival since its inception.
Meanwhile, Safe2Go, from Glasgow-based Hamill Digital Healthcare, has provided free use of its recently launched contact tracing solution to all participating coffee shops free of charge for the duration of the festival.
A £5 ticket will allow festival-goers to access all the deals and discounts on everything from free coffee to cannoli.
Coffee shops from Finnieston, recently dubbed “the hippest place to buy a house”, to Dennistoun – the eighth coolest neighbourhood in the world according to Time Out – are among those are taking part.
See all participants at www.glasgowcoffeefestival.com
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