Optimistic: Robert Scobie's restaurant opened ten months ago and has managed to weather the recession. Pic: © STV
After opening a business in the middle of the worst recession in living memory, Robert Scobie certainly knows the secret of survival.
Ten months after launching Tapa Barra y Restaurante in Edinburgh's Leith district, Robert has not only kept his doors open, but is cautiously optimistic about the future.
Robert was living in Spain and planning his return to his home country when the recession first began to bite.
The financial downturn had begun to hit hard on the continent and Robert felt he would be better off returning to Edinburgh, where he had the business experience and contacts he felt would help when times got tough.
However, Robert said he had no idea the recession would prove to be as tough as it has. He took possession of a restaurant unit in the city's Leith district early last year and opened Tapa Barra y Restaurante in the early spring.
He immediately spotted the effect the credit crunch was having on new business owners. He said: "In the first week, I went to the bank to see if I could sort out my facilities and I met with my usual team who I've been banking with for twenty years. Immediately, they said they couldn't lend me any money.
"I explained that I only wanted an account and some credit card machines. They had assumed I would need to borrow. They were happy to help after that, but they'd already decided they couldn't lend any cash to me to start my business. I think their company had basically ordered them not to lend.
"They were just meeting me, I think, to be nice and break the news to me because they knew me. Thankfully, I didn't need the money. But if I'd been starting out for the first time, there wouldn't have been any assistance.
It wasn't just in banking that Robert saw the effects of the recession. He found even the process of stocking his kitchen resulted in fresh demands.
Robert said: "I was aware that the big costs, the food costs and labour costs, were the ones you have to watch. If you let them run away then you'd go bankrupt, you'd have no chance. But this time, very few of our suppliers gave credit, very few, so we've been paying as we go. Normally, you'd pay on a monthly basis after ordering a month in advance but none of that was offered to me this time round. We were paying up front.
"There's a positive side to that in that you know what your costs are. There's no illusion. If there's no cash in the bank, you're not doing well. However, it was very hard starting out."
Tuesday's figures show the UK is slowly beginning to claw itself out of the longest and deepest recession in a generation, however, for some business owners, it is too late. One restaurant beside Tapa Edinburgh closed its doors last week following a crippling trading period.
However, Robert's restaurant has survived its first ten months well and he believes the recession has actually had some positive effects on how his business has been launched and marketed.
He said: "I think its the people in the middle who have suffered the most, they've really really struggled. In a way, we've benefited because people who were not affording to go out as normal could come to us for a more inexpensive meal or night out. All things considered, we've not had that bad a year.
"People still have to enjoy themselves, they still go out. And we're here waiting for them. It's just about offering them what they view as value for money.
"I think people are clued up to it now. Everybody is booking through these discount organisations now, and I'm straight in there because the customer wants value for money and they get it from these services.
"My first business in Edinburgh, people would have been too embarrassed to bring out a discount card. That has all changed. People need to cut their costs and if we get on board with that, it benefits us. I know that if I don't offer a discount, they'll find it somewhere else. People still want good food and good service, they still want to feel special. They just don't want to be cheated."
Robert saw a busy trading period in December, which then stalled towards the start of the year when Scotland was hit with the big freeze.
However, the businessman welcomed news the country has now entered economic growth and said he is looking towards the future with cautious optimism.
"I think the weather has not helped the start of this year. But since the weather's broken, for us in January, it's been very positive. Our weekends have been jumping and I'm very grateful. Maybe it is breaking. I think it's ok."
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