Brewing success: Inverness coffee roastery thrives despite challenges, roasting 40,000 kilogrammes of coffee beans each year
An Inverness business roasts nearly 40,000 kilogrammes of coffee beans every year, supplying golden nectar to cafés and households across the country.
Grain and Grind has eight shops across Scotland, including one on Tomnahurich Street, alongside its coffee roastery on Lotland Street.
Owned by John Gartly and Matthew Mustard, the business has gone from strength to strength since it started in 2018 and now employs 50 people.
Speaking at the café in Tomnahurich Street, John said: “Originally, I was doing the roasting one to two days a week in Glasgow, but I was living in Inverness.
“However, because I have a guest house here, we decided to open this shop in Inverness. The roasting side of things was also outgrowing the shop in Glasgow, and we were struggling for space.
“When Covid came along, we sold more coffee from the roastery as people were using it at home, so we made the decision to open the site in Lotland Street. It’s been phenomenal since then, supplying shops and lots of corporate places, including Barclays Bank.”
Originally from Turriff, John has been in hospitality for most of his life but also spent five years as part of North East Scotland College’s senior management team.
He started Grain and Grind ‘by chance’ after investing in Matthew’s business.
“It was never the intention to open lots of shops and a roastery,” he said.
“I used to have Thompsons Coffee in Glasgow, so I had always been on the coffee roasting and supply side of things but never in cafés.
“Now we supply around 1,200 bags of coffee a week and roast 40,000 kg per year.”
However, running a business is not easy at the moment, with John having first-hand experience from running both the cafés and a guest house in Inverness.
He said: “It’s very difficult right now as coffee prices have risen significantly. You expect that in coffee, as it always fluctuates, but the last time there was a huge spike like this was in 2010.
“Everything went up in price last year, and we had to increase our prices in response. With things like business rates and National Insurance rates going up, it’s going to hit a lot of people.”
In terms of running the Atherstone Guest House, John has also seen an impact, with the tourist tax looming, which is currently under consultation.
“The roads have been really degraded by campervans, so putting a tax on guest houses and B&Bs isn’t addressing the real problem,” he explained.
“If you go to big supermarkets around the area, all you see is campervans. They are not going to the wee shops in communities. I don’t mind paying tax if we are going to see something good come from it.”
Despite the hard times, John and Matthew have been able to maintain a high staff retention rate, which John attributes to decent wages, good hours, and staff engagement.
He also said that Inverness is a good place to do business: “Inverness is a great place to do business. Size-wise, it’s good, and there is no conflict with Kevin at Inverness Coffee at all. He walks into my place, and I walk into his. People are very nice to deal with here.”
And the key to a good coffee isn’t new.
John said: “People have been roasting coffee for centuries, so it’s not a new thing. The secret is always to try and get rid of the bitterness without removing too many sugars; that’s always been the secret of roasting.”
