CRABSHAKK BOTANICS HAS JUST OPENED IN GLASGOW’S WEST END AND SUSAN YOUNG CAUGHT UP WITH JOHN MACLEOD AND HIS TEAM TO FIND OUT MORE.
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hat better way to interview John Macleod than sitting in the sun outside his newest venture, the Crabshakk Botanics, in Vinicombe Street. We first met when he launched the Crabshakk in Finnieston, or as John calls it the ‘wee shakk’. Wee it certainly is, unlike his newest eatery here in the iconic Botanics Garage which no doubt will be nicknamed the ‘big Shakk’. The original Crabshakk opened in 2009, and for the first six months it didn’t even have a sign on the door. But when you described it to anyone you just said “It’s across from the Ben Nevis.” In fact the Ben Nevis had the restaurant’s menu behind the bar – as it also was the waiting room for a table. It was a success from day one. Says John, “The wee shakk always had a bit of fairy dust.” It certainly did, and soon became a favourite with seafood lovers, including myself. John and wife Lynn’s Crabshakk was central in the creation of the ‘Finnieston Strip’. Their newest incarnation John says “is a child of the pandemic.” He explains, “If it hadn’t been for the pandemic we wouldn’t be here. About a month into the pandemic I had the Finnieston Green idea thing going on (an idea to pedestrianise part of Argyll Street and cover with a roofed glasshouse.) Looking back it was a lot of fun working on the idea. For six or seven weeks I messed about with it, none of us knew what was going to happen next, and it all felt a bit weird, but this kept me amused. We were all at home and friends gave me hi-level consulting advice for nothing... and the advice came from all over the world. However the idea inevitably failed.” He continues, “Then I was walking in the West End one day and I saw this unit was empty. Initially I just thought about doing a pop-up for six months because, at that time, I didn’t know when, or if , the Crabshakk was ever going to open again. My idea was to put a food wagon on the ramp and put in 20/30 covers in the window. “I called the agent, and we got talking, and then being an architect I suppose I could see all the possibilities... and one thing led to another. However, if I had known then how well the Finnieston Crabshakk was going to bounce back, I wouldn’t have done it. “It has definitely been very challenging, but we are over that now, and I am very happy with the way it has turned out. The new Shaak really did come out of necessity rather than desire. I don’t think we would have done a restaurant of this size, had the pandemic not happened and this opportunity hadn’t presented itself. But it is a great site and the West End continues to thrive.” He also believes that the pandemic has reinforced the importance of hospitality to the public. Says John, “The public have fallen back in love with it. They want to have coffee with their friends, and meet up for expensive and inexpensive meals. I think this two year period, when we couldn’t go out, has reminded people what they missed. I’m surprised at how busy we have been since we re-opened.” John, as he said, is an architect and he first came to Glasgow to study at the School of Art some 45 years ago, from his home on Lewis. He still retains many of his friends from these days and one is Peter McGurn, whose artist wife Rita created the scribble that now adorns the entrance wall of the Crabshakk Botanics. John explains, “We were on holiday in France and she just scribbled the picture on a piece of paper, and when we came back I used it at Table 11, which was next to the Crabshakk. She died six years ago, but her daughter Rosie, also a well-known artist, has now curated the scribble for us in neon. A further connection is that Rita’s granddaughter Lily Brown is also the General Manager. There is also a connection between Head Chef David Scott and 22
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HOW FRIENDS THE CRABSHA Manager Tom Jukes. The two met as babies – Tom’s parents Peter and Vivien Jukes took on the The Cellar in Anstruther 40 years ago, and invited David’s grandparents, who owned The Ship in Elie, to the launch along with daughter Elspeth Scott. Soon after Vivien and Elspeth both had sons - Tom and David, and throughout the ladies remained friends and their boys grew up together. David went to work at The Cellar when he was in his teens and it was Peter, Tom’s dad, from whom he learnt his fish cookery. At the same time Tom was honing his front of house skills at The Cellar too. The two boys then left to work in Glasgow. first for Ronnie Clydesdale at the Ubiquitous Chip and then David went to Brian Maule’s before joining the Crabshakk 13 years ago. Says John, “David was my very first signing.” Tom also joined the wee Crabshakk and his remit now covers both venues, with colleague Nancy Simpson holding the fort on a day-today basis.. Says John, “I know who has made our business a success and that’s the team. Lynn and I love having the Crabshakk. Seafood is our thing. It is all we know, but it is the staffing, resourcing and the treatment of staff that’s the bit we really enjoy. And one of the things that Lynn and myself have always been keen on is to encourage the next generation into the business, and that is what this is all about.” “We have a very strong core team and on our opening trial night
