We made a decision to close our Finnieston branch. Here, in Woodlands, we have a much bigger unit where we can safely work and safely deal with customers as well. We've still got the intention to get Finnieston back up and running again. We just need to figure out a way we can, first of all work safely and serve customers safely as well.
This was primarily a sit-in venue and we've now tailored it to run on takeaway. But we've been in a much more fortunate position than a lot of other businesses in the city, we've maintained opening throughout the whole of lockdown.
There's a big advantage of being based in a residential area, especially when you're doing things like deliveries or takeaway. That's been huge for us. Woodlands and Finnieston both embraced it and we've done really well out of that.
We have a pretty loyal following of people. We get people who keep coming back which is great. From even the pop-up days, we've had that loyal, core base who have consistently followed us from the likes of the pop-ups I did at BrewDog, from there to Finnieston and into Woodlands as well. We've been again really lucky with that and people have actually stuck by us for all that time.
Although there's a lot of chat about burgers being out of fashion, I think that might not necessarily be 100 per cent true! I think we've got the customers to show it.
The first-ever pop-up was in 2014. I didn't come from hospitality, I didn't come from a catering background at all. I used to work for big telecoms companies and they did a big clear-out of staff. I didn't want to work in an office anymore. It came to a choice - 'I've got the opportunity to do something different', which I did. That's where the Perro Negro idea came from.
In all fairness, it was a conversation in a pub between me and the mad chef, Danny Mclaren. We ended up getting introduced and having a couple of drinks and stuff and that was when the big burger boom was happening. We were chatting about burgers and I said 'I've got an idea for a burger' which was the Top Dog. Danny being Danny went 'f*** it! Do you want to just come in and give it a bash?'. Literally, the rest is history from that point.
Obviously it got reviewed by James vs. Burger. He's got a massive following of people who seriously listen to what he has to say. We had other food bloggers who were coming in, Michelle Muirhead was the very first. They've always stuck by us. They've been fiercely loyal as well about the product and what we do which is something we've always been really thankful for.
When you look at the cycle of events, it came from absolutely bugger all.
We got James' seal of approval for the Best Burger in Glasgow, we then won the Best Burger in Glasgow, we then won Best Burger in the UK, then they had me judging it the year after. There's a certain level of impostor syndrome I think I've got! I don't see myself as a chef. I just try to put things together in a logical way and people buy into it.
When Peter and Ivan, the boys from The Gannet, got involved in the Perro Negro thing, they still had those core beliefs of what I wanted in the sense it was always quality of produce first and we work everything else out afterwards. For me that formula's worked.
If I look back at the whole chain of events, it's humbling, I think is the best way of putting it.
When I was younger, my mum made an effort to put a home-cooked meal on the table every single night. When I moved up to Glasgow to study, the first year was effectively 'c**p'. Then you realise, you're missing what you were used to. When you've moved out the house for the first time, going to nightclubs and getting absolutely hammered, everything's about how much drink you can get hold of. There's only so many frozen pizzas and kebabs you can eat. After a year of that, you think 'I need to cook proper food'.
For me, it was just a case of learning how to do it - lots of errors in doing it, but I just seemed to have a knack for it. Then, I was cooking for people at home, on scale. At New Year's parties we were feeding about 40 people. I thought 'maybe I'm doing something right'.
For the month of August, Glasgow Live will be shining a light on the food and drink businesses reopening after months of lockdown. Just like our long-running Glasgow Lives series, we want to show you the people behind your favourite bars, restaurants and cafes - and we hope you enjoy a little insight into some fascinating Glasgow Places.
