A former law student is launching a coffee shop in Dunfermline with a “95% gluten-free menu”.
Jiordia Wragg, 27, is opening Plaza Real in the former Williamson’s florist on Douglas Street.
The former Abertay University student has been inspired to open the cafe after struggling to find somewhere that her husband, Nathan – who has coeliac disease – could eat safely.
She says about 95% of the menu items will be gluten-free.
Plaza Real in Dunfermline to feature gluten-free Spanish and Mediterranean food
Jiordia told The Courier: “The name of the cafe is based on my maiden name, which is Spanish.
“The menu will be Spanish and Mediterranean-themed.
“My husband Nathan has coeliac disease and it has always been a struggle to find a place that sells gluten-free food.
“Some places use the same equipment or fryers which creates cross contamination but we will keep it all separate – with separate fridges and freezers too.
“I used to bake for family and friends and one of my family members works in the NHS – she would take the food I gave her for other nurses and they wouldn’t even realise it was gluten-free.
“I am getting quite a lot of feedback on Facebook and does seem like it is something not a lot of places offer.
“People don’t choose to have coeliac disease.
“I have worked in places where people made comments about it being a trend or a choice.
“Eventually we are planning to expand into Edinburgh and there, I will have a full kitchen.
“Then I want to offer food from the Philippines, where I was born.”
Former Abertay law student says opening cafe was ‘always at the back of my mind’
Jiordia, who grew up in Kirkcaldy but now lives in Dunfermline, has worked in hospitality since she was 16.
She met Nathan while she lived in Nottingham, where she worked as a barista at Starbucks.
She returned to Scotland in 2018 and had been studying law in Dundee before deciding that she wanted to run her own business.
She said: “It has always been at the back of my mind to do something like this.
“When I was studying law in Dundee, it was one of those things where I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it.
“I got my paralegal qualifications from college but was just in my first year of uni.
“Law was more of a hobby to me, something I was interested in.”
Jiordia hopes to open Plaza Real on July 17 after completing work to turn the space into a cafe.
She will be working with family and friends to start with before employing staff in the future.
Items on the menu will be home-made including toasties, bagels, pastries, cakes and traybakes.
Elsewhere in the city, Bank of Scotland has announced it is closing a branch in Dunfermline.
Drivers are also being warned about the next phase of major roadworks at Bothwell Gardens roundabout.
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