Hawick cafe in pole position at awards

The West End Cafe, in Howegate, was opened in March last year by four Polish pals – Mirosław Baranowski and his wife Ewa, Izabela Wiktorowicz, and Tomasz Trzciński, the venture’s official owner.

Despite fierce competition from the abundance of cafes now up and running in Hawick, the outlet has flourished and proved a hit with townsfolk, and it credits that to excellent service, the quality of its coffee, the freshness of its food and the generosity of the portions it serves up.

Now the partners are hoping to expand by opening further cafes and restaurants in the region.

Meanwhile, though, they are celebrating winning the class for cafe most wanted by its customers in the south section of this year’s Scottish Cafe Awards.

That honour comes after it was nominated by customers.

A spokesperson for the cafe said: “It was in our imagination all the time to open a cafe, and then we found this premises. I think it’s popular because we serve fresh food, not from frozen, and the Polish food is popular too, of good quality and in big portions as well. I don’t think people expected the big portions that they would be served.

“After we opened the coffee shop, another five cafes opened in Hawick, but still we are happy, despite the competition, because our business is doing very well.

“We didn’t expect even to get nominated for the award. We just received an email that we had been nominated. It was a big surprise.

“We still have to continue to work hard and improve our coffee, and hopefully in the future maybe we can open some more cafes and restaurants. That is our plan for the future.”

Cafe manager Dawid Szuic said: “We were extremely surprised to have won this prestigious award. We are focused on delivering as well put together products and service as we possibly can.

“When we get recognised, it means that we are doing something right.

“The best thing about running this cafe is the fact that our guests often let us know that they are willing to come back, are satisfied and feel like we are their friends.

“We are going to work hard, make sure to serve the best products we can and stay smart.”