You might have heard that the popular St Andrews takeaway The Cheesy Toast Shack has introduced a “seagull insurance”.
This £1 cost protects both customers and the business, says owner Sam Larg, who runs the shack with his wife, Kate.
Seagulls are a persistent problem at the East Sands toastie spot.
“It started as a bit of tongue-in-cheek, a daft joke,” Sam tells me.
“I was having a laugh with a journalist and he asked what measures I’d put in.
“And we’ve got the [bird scarer] kite up there, we’ve been playing birds of prey music, but nothing was working.
“So then I said I think we’re going to do seagull insurance. At that point, it was still just a bit of a laugh.”
The “seagull insurance” has since featured in the media UK-wide, with Rylan Clark discussing the concept on This Morning earlier this week.
Why does The Cheesy Toast Shack need ‘seagull insurance’?
“We’ve had days where around 30 sandwiches go missing,” Sam explains.
“We always replace them.
“Because, you know, we’re from here. We’re not a chain and we want to make sure the customers feel as happy as possible.
“And when you see a wee boy or a wee girl – or an old boy or an old girl – greetin’ and getting their sandwich nicked?
“We have always gone out and told people they can get it replaced.
“When we’re busy, the queues can be an hour long, or longer. Folk wait that long and then get it stolen. It’s not fair.”
And so, the idea for the “seagull insurance” was born.
“I thought,” Sam goes on, “maybe we can turn this negative into something quite positive.
“We could have an optional fee, to cover your lunch for a quid.
“That means if the seagulls come and grab it, come right to the front of the queue and we’ll get you sorted out straight away.
“It protects us and the customers. Because sometimes customers would say ‘nah, we don’t want the free food’ and we would be insisting.”
Although the idea started as a way for the business to protect themselves from a loss, the owners now want to give the excess money to charity.
“At the end of the day, say we make fifty quid extra in seagull insurance,” Sam says, “that’ll give us a wee bit of money to put in a fund, for a charity or to sponsor a local sports team.”
How did the ‘seagull insurance’ go?
On the first day (Wednesday), around 95 people purchased “seagull insurance” from The Cheesy Toast Shack.
Eight toasties needed replaced after being grabbed by the gulls, which equates to £54 raised for charity on the first day.
The Cheesy Toast Shack is, as usual, very busy on the Wednesday afternoon that I pay my visit.
Plenty of tourists visiting the Fife town are enjoying an ice cream or a toastie on East Sands.
Kathy and Raymond McNeil, 69, are visiting from Falkirk.
The stuffed toasties are clearly legendary in St Andrews and beyond.
They share a macaroni and cheese toastie – bravely – with a handful of gulls swooping overhead.
Kathy laughs: “I’m so glad that I’ve taken insurance out!
“I think it’s a great idea. Especially since it goes to charity.”
“I’ve heard a lot about these toasties,” she adds.
“I’m going to protect it with my life!”
Conversation