Committed to Community

Photo by David Cameron

With their new outdoor area primed to give our town centre a metropolitan feel, Café Fairfull’s Elaine Fairfull talks local heritage, al fresco dining and her outlook on Paisley’s future.

Asense of identity is a powerful thing. It can inform how we carry ourselves, shape our world view or in some cases, even inspire our approach to the business world. Having opened its doors on the High Street in 2012, Café Fairfull quickly entered the heart of the community. Possessing a welcoming atmosphere and top quality food without having to break the bank, there has always been a feeling of belonging that strikes you as you walk in the doors. As though it’s always been there and always will be.

For owner Elaine Fairfull, the business is born of her affection for the area that her roots are firmly placed in.

“I always knew I was going to do something here. My family has been in Paisley for generations,” she said fondly. “During the war, my gran had a shop in Abercorn Street and a kiosk in Russell Street. One day, a lady came in and asked, ‘are you a Fairfull?’ I said yes. She said, ‘Well I used to live next to your granny’s shop and she’d always give us sweeties’. She. Another lady who’s now sadly passed away and was 104 at the time had said to me that she’d been a Saturday girl for my gran. For me, it's just fantastic that people take the time to relay fond memories like that.”

Photo by David Cameron

After cementing themselves as a hub for tasty and affordable dining, Elaine and her cheerful team are now readying themselves for expansion with a brand new outdoor area.

“The gazebos are ready and just waiting to go out,” Elaine enthused. “We want it to be a positive thing for the town, offering everything you’ve come to expect from us as well as cocktails and a new al-fresco platter. There’ll be space for 60 in this new space and 100-plus across the whole premises, so we’ll be able to keep everyone happy. We are the people that we serve, whether it’s someone who likes to eat outside one day and comes for a business lunch the next. With our new cart outside, it means people can even grab their food and go if they need to, or get themselves a Porrelli’s ice cream to take away. So, there’s room for us all to be a little bit of everything and that’s what we want to represent.”

Photo by David Cameron

“I pride myself on what we do,” she continued. “We’ve got two full-time bakers, a part-time baker and three full-time chefs to make sure everything’s as fresh as possible. Above all, It’s important to have an honest price for honest fare, whether it’s our sea bass dishes, our chilli, Thai green curries, Sunday lunch or a dessert from our brand new waffle machine. Everything’s made from scratch.”

As alluded to earlier, Elaine is eager for the changes she’s making to the High Street’s layout to contribute to the upward momentum that the town is enjoying. For her, the goal is to aid the area that her family has inhabited for decades in reaching its full potential.

“We just want people to come here and know that they’ll get what they want. Going forward, we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing but we want more business coming into Paisley. I’m talking about cafés, delis, bars and the like. When you look at the places we have just now, they all do something different and that’s fantastic. So, the more we have, the better off we’ll be. For me, the end goal is for the town to end up like Glasgow’s West End and I think it will if everything falls into place as planned,” Elaine declared. “Through the years, there’s been this mindset that people only came into Paisley if they were going to Marks and Spencer’s, but that’s long gone. We need to stop looking back or looking down and instead, look forward. Come into the town, see how much we’ve got to offer and if you come to visit Café Fairfull, you’ll get good food, efficient service and an honest price. That’s what it’s all about.”

Café Fairfull, 12 High Street, Paisley, PA1 2BS. Book via Facebook @fairfullcollection or OpenTable.