Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Customer-base like ‘a little community’
CHOOSING what to have for lunch in a bustling city centre can be a task, however, Brodie’s Takeaway has you covered.
The blue-fronted shop on Bell Street is often the go-to place to grab a whole range of tasty homemade grub and it is all thanks to Cate and Ron Brodie who opened the shop almost 14 years ago.
Cate said: “We already owned Brodie’s Coffee Shop in Forfar and we wanted to branch out and open another shop.
“The premises we are in were already a takeaway when we took over.”
After three years of running both businesses the couple decided to sell the coffee shop and focus on their Dundee business and their two children.
Cate said: “We found with running two businesses and having two kids that we were just too widespread between the shops and we decided to sell the coffee shop.
“It was a really hard decision to make, but with business you have to either go really big and hire managers or stay small and in control so that is what we have done.
“It has also allowed us to get our weekends back to spend with our children.”
Now the takeaway is thriving with masses of hungry locals heading in five days a week for the huge range of homemade food on offer.
Cate appreciates though that the shop is in an ideal location with the High School of Dundee, Abertay University and the DC Thomson offices in close proximity and full of willing customers.
“We have a huge amount of regulars now from all the local businesses.
“The shop is now like a meeting point with everyone like a little community and we all know each other.
“I also like to introduce people to each other while they are waiting in the queues for their food.
“It is a way for them to network and meet new people and it’s also great for me getting to know everyone who comes in.”
Now after more than a decade the owner couldn’t imagine not having the takeaway shop.
“Although it is very hard work with my days lasting easily 12 hours and starting between 5-6am, I couldn’t imagine myself not having Brodie’s.
“People may think it is easy, but there is a lot of work that goes on in the background that customers don’t see.
“Sometimes I am tired, but you have got to keep on going no matter what and we now have our weekends back so we have that time to recover.”