The couple behind a popular Tayside cafe have not let any hurdles stand in the way of creating a thriving business.
Ali and Bob Abercrombie have managed to overcome major challenges including Covid and the sudden loss of their first premises.
They are now delighted their latest venue The Lass O’Gowrie in Errol is performing exceptionally well.
The firm currently has six full-time staff and a total payroll of 20.
From working in Kosovo to cafe owners
But the pair’s earlier career paths were far removed from running a cafe.
Ali’s variety of roles including being an accountant and working for the United Nations’ Mission in Kosovo.
Bob’s posts included being an adoptions clerk with the Scottish Court Service before moving to Kosovo in 2008 to join Ali.
He became a court clerk for international judges and prosecutors processing trials in relation to war crimes, trafficking and corruption in Kosovo.
The couple were in the south-eastern European country until 2013.
However they shared a passion for food.
Upon their return to Scotland, they took what Ali described as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to determine their next steps.
Ali added: “We decided that we wanted to start our own business in food, drink and hospitality.”
Opening AliBob Cafe
That led to the AliBob Cafe opening its doors in the Errol area in March 2014.
Ali went on: “We wanted to redefine what a cafe meant in Scotland.
“We wanted to develop five-star customer service serving properly tasty, innovative food that was not fancy or overly complicated, but was fulfilling and home-made.
“We’d make everything ourselves in-house and there were no other cafes in the area that were making their own cakes themselves.
“We would be community focused and develop regular customers who were loyal to our brand whilst treating our customers fairly and by being open and honest.”
‘Absolute carnage’ on opening day
But Ali conceded things didn’t get off to a smooth start.
She added: “We didn’t really have a clue what we were letting ourselves in for at first.
“The day we opened, it was absolute carnage, but we were honest with our customers and asked for their patience whilst we learned the ropes. It was a steep learning curve.
But our passion for what we were doing got us through and our customers could see our dedication.
“We grew at a pace that allowed us to learn as we went and then took off. We won awards and started to get recognised for what we were doing.”
Covid forced the business to adapt. The co-founders developed their AliBoberoo delivery service. They said it was a matter of “survive or die”.
They added: “We couldn’t let our customers down.”
There was also an unexpected blow at the end of that year when the couple received an email from the cafe landlord giving just three weeks’ notice to vacate the premises.
The Lass O’Gowrie owners ‘perseverance’
Ali was blunt about what this meant to the business: “We lost everything.”
But the pair were determined to move ahead despite this setback – taking on premises in the Victoria Hall on Errol High Street.
The rebranded business opened in May last year.
Ali said the business has gone from strength to strength since.
Such has been its success, it won the Resilience and Recovery award at the Courier Business Awards last weekend.
Ali added: “We had to organise a full refurbishment of a Victorian listed building. It had been vacant for over eight years.
“With scarcity of trades as well as raw materials and spiralling costs, it was extremely challenging.
“We very nearly quit a number of times when everything seemed to be stacked against us.
“But we persevered, buoyed by the support from our regular customers who had followed our journey and were keen to see us open again.
“We haven’t looked back since.”
Conversation