Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Coffee Apothecary to offer hospitality staff 50% discount

The Coffee Apothecary, Udny.
Jonny and Ali Aspden of the Coffee Apothecary, Udny. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Jonny Aspden has his best ideas while out running.

“My wife hates it when I go because I come back with all these crazy plans,” says the owner of Coffee Apothecary, a chain of coffee shops in Udny and Ellon.

It was while out running that he came up with a crowdfunding plan to get Coffee Apothecary through the pandemic.

And he was pounding the pavement when he decided the business should start roasting its own coffee beans.

His latest idea, however, could be his best yet.

Ali and Jonny outside their Coffee Apothecary shop in Udny.
Ali and Jonny outside their Coffee Apothecary shop in Udny.

“Sometimes I just come back and grab our paper and stick around a little bit different ideas,” Jonny says. “And this is one of them.”

Jonny and his wife Ali will, until the end of July, offer hospitality staff a 50% discount at either of the Coffee Apothecary shops.

The idea is to support Aberdeenshire’s service staff as they struggle through one of the most difficult periods they have ever faced.

Jonny says the discount is his way of thanking people that toil in jobs often looked down upon.

Jonny feels hospitality workers don't get paid enough in the UK.
Jonny feels hospitality workers don’t get paid enough in the UK.

“It’s always been the case that hospitality workers in the UK don’t get paid enough,” he explains.

“In countries like France, for example, hospitality is a valid profession that is paid well. In the UK, it’s seen as a job you have before you get a ‘real’ job.

“That’s not right, because it is one of the hardest-working jobs in the country.”

Respite for hard work

According to Jonny, hospitality workers are being squeezed harder than ever because of the pressure on jobs caused by the pandemic. Recently, that’s been coupled with rising prices through inflation.

He hopes the discount will offer some sort of respite – a chance for hospitality workers to treat themselves.

“People only work in hospitality because they love it,” says Jonny, who founded Coffee Apothecary with Ali in 2014.

“It’s damn hard work, but we love it. But with all the cost-of-living stuff, it means that once people pay their mortgage and the heating, there’s nothing left to spend on enjoying themselves.”

Coffee Apothecary hospitality discount
Hospitality workers are going through a tough time.

Jonny admits his discount is a drop in the ocean when set against the financial hurdles hospitality workers face.

But he hopes his idea can spark a wider change, and encourage other businesses to follow his lead. The aim is to make the Coffee Apothecary discount easy to access, with the only requirement being a payslip from a hospitality job.

“I sent a lot of Instagram messages last night to all the people I know in the industry and I received a lot of comebacks,” Jonny says. “That’s awesome. That’s amazing. Whether it goes anywhere or not, I have no idea, but I would love it if almost every place in Aberdeen offered a similar discount.”

Changing attitudes to hospitality

For Jonny, the ultimate goal would be to convince customers to pay more for their food to cover wage rises for hospitality staff.

But the seasoned café owner knows that is an uphill struggle, especially as disposable incomes shrink.

“Every customer would agree that we should pay our staff more,” Jonny says. “But when you tell them that this means the price of their food will go up by two pounds, then they think, ‘Actually, no, don’t do that’.”

Coffee Apothecary hospitality discount
Ali and Jonny own two Coffee Apothecary shops, in Udny and Ellon.

If nothing changes, Jonny fears losing more hospitality staff to other professions.

He says that over lockdown many chefs became delivery drivers. Many have stayed because the hours are better and the pay higher.

There is, he adds, a culture in the cheffing world of 100-hour weeks that the industry needs to move away from.

Then he laughs, perhaps envisaging another run in the Aberdeenshire countryside.

“But that’s a whole different campaign,” he says.


More from food and drink…

Conversation