A new Mediterranean-inspired cafe run by a father-and-son duo has opened in Stirling.
Mahir Gul, 25, and his dad Ergin Gul, 53, opened Mato’s Cafe on Friars Street at the start of June.
Ergin, whose family is originally from Turkey, has a background in construction but was “tired of travelling” for work and decided to open the eatery.
The pair want to focus on offering hot food as well as handmade cakes and coffee.
Mato’s Cafe in Stirling opens after year of work on city centre business
Mahir – who recently returned from several years living and working in Sweden – told The Courier: “We didn’t do any big opening but surprisingly it has been good so far.
“We were working on the cafe for about a year so I think, because there has been work happening for so long, people were interested to see what we had done.
“We have had people coming in and saying the menu is diverse and that they will come back.
“I have worked in hospitality alongside my studies and my father worked in hospitality before he worked in construction.
“He was tired of the travelling that came with his job and had this plan.
“We decided I would help him with the menu and the branding.
“My time in Sweden was an adventure since 2019 – I learned Swedish and studied for two terms there.
“I then worked for the rest of the time in various jobs like in a school and a kitchen.
“I had to come back for personal reasons and when I did, my dad was already working on the cafe.”
Father-and-son duo from Glasgow open new Mediterranean-inspired Stirling cafe
Ergin and Mahir travel to Stirling from their home in Glasgow but hope to move to the city soon.
Mahir said: “Glasgow is very expensive and the location we found here is very nice.
“My dad also saw some potential here in Stirling as it is a colourful, small city and he thought this was a good opportunity.
“He might say there is competition here with other cafes but I don’t think that is a bad thing.
“We want to focus on our breakfast options.
“We grill our own chicken and do things like paninis and toasties – all our cakes are hand-made so that helps us to stand out as well.
“When we opened the shop we had the idea that we would hand-make two cake options and buy in others, but we found that the buy-in options were sugary and heavy.
“Then a guy who owns a company called Treat came by and said he makes hand-made cakes so we now buy them from him and he brings them fresh.”
Mahir and Ergin have also extended the cafe’s opening hours to serve coffee and food later on Saturday evenings.
Late Saturday opening at Stirling cafe
Mahir said: “We want Saturdays to be a cosy night for people who wish to come in.
“People need to get to know our menu better and we have already had some families come in this week at around 4pm or 5pm.
“I think opening on Saturday nights until 8pm will be nice for people.”
In May, Victoria’s Coffee Shop on Stirling’s King Street closed after 24 years in the city.
Businesses in the city centre have also hit out at a hike in parking charges.
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