Cafe owner in Selkirk is putting all her eggs in one basket

The pressures of an 80-hour working week has led a Selkirk businesswoman to put a town cafe up for sale - so she can concentrate on her ice cream parlour a short distance away.
Cafe for sale.Cafe for sale.
Cafe for sale.

For the last few months Claire McCall has been valiantly trying to operate two outlets in the town, much of the time on her own.

When she's not at the Courthouse Coffee Shop at 28 Market Place she's at her second business a short distance away, Scoop Galeto ice cream parlour.

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The coffee outlet is open from 10am to 2.30pm five days a week, with Scoop operating on the same days from 11am to 6pm.

It's a punishing schedule and Claire has now decided that something has to give and is putting all her eggs in one basket by selling the coffee shop and concentrating on Scoop.

She said: "It will be five years in May that I took over the cafe. It's exhausting for one person going between the two.

"My intention, because I always knew it was going to be a lifestyle, was to only do it for between three and five years.

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"Scoop is doing okay but I can't wait for the spring and for the sun to start shining again. I only opened in May last year, on the Bank Holiday weekend, and we were so lucky with the weather and there were queues out the door.

"I'm trying to focus on a winter plan to keep it sustainable over these months until it gets busy again and it's a struggle to juggle the two businesses.

"The cafe is currently closed on a Monday and Tuesday and Scoop is the same but I am trying to switch that up a bit because I don't want to go back to working seven days a week."

The Courthouse cafe, a well-established leasehold property, is currently on the market with Rightmove, with the sale description saying: "Courthouse Coffee Shop has been under careful and meticulous ownership for a number of years, building up an enviable reputation not just locally but further afield. The business is now being offered for sale as it's our client's desire to focus on other business commitments."

The asking price is £29,995.

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