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Scottish fare with a Spanish twist on offer at Café de Paulo in the historic Victorian Market in Inverness


By Ian Duncan

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An Inverness café owner originally moved to the city because he found living in London too expensive.

Juan Paulo had finished studying civil engineering at university in his native Spain, and had worked in the English capital for a year before he decided it was time for a change of scene.

That was around 10 years ago and he has since studied for a second degree in business management at UHI – his main job is as a senior account manager at Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

He said he set up Café de Paulo in the Victorian Market as an investment around 18 months ago and currently employs seven people to run it.

“I missed the whole café atmosphere so when the place came up it was a good opportunity,” he said.

The café, which reopened in July, is popular for its breakfasts and lunches and Mr Paulo said it had been quite exciting to get back to business following the lockdown.

While it was closed he used the time constructively to give the outlet a more modern look – including oak flooring.

He said: “I think we’ve done quite a good job freshening it up.

“People have noticed the difference.”

Social distancing means that they can now serve fewer customers at any one time – 40 compared with 95 – and there are four tables outside in the Eastgate Arcade.

Mr Paulo said they had followed the government safety guidelines and added: “There’s nothing else we can do.

“The staff are wearing masks and we do track and trace. We did that before it was mandatory.

“We’ve done as much as we can, but it is what it is.”

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