The Little Lunchbox is a tiny takeaway that punches well above its diminutive size in Elgin.
From first impressions, the lunchtime destination packs as much as it can into the cramped space on one of the town’s most historic closes.
Only two people at a time can stand at the counter to order, forcing many to wait outside during busy periods.
However, since owner Kathleen Shanks took the reins eight years ago she has pushed the business to new heights after adapting to changing footfall trends in the town centre.
Today The Little Lunchbox has branched out with an outside catering arm and has secured a competitive contract to do the catering at UHI Moray’s Elgin campuses.
Just a few years ago Kathleen was fretting over whether to take on the business, worried she didn’t have the skills to run her own firm.
The Press and Journal stopped by The Little Lunchbox to ask what advice the Elgin takeaway owner would have for others facing the same choice.
- Also, what inspired her love of baking that took her on a journey from Skye to Elgin via Inverness.
- How she has adapted to changing lunchtime trends following the Covid pandemic.
- The close bond she has with her customers and neighbouring businesses in Elgin town centre.
- And why she thinks there is “magic in the air” in The Little Lunchbox.
A lifetime of baking before The Little Lunchbox
Kathleen’s passion for catering and baking started from a young age, and she has devoted her entire working life to honing her craft.
After leaving school, she served her apprenticeship at MacKenzie’s Bakery in Portree.
About 10 years later she left Skye for Inverness and worked in Oliver’s and The Three Little Bakers as well as supermarkets.
Today an incredible selection of traybakes are stacked in The Little Lunchbox counter for Elgin customers every day.
So is it a love of sweet treats and sugary snacks that got her into the trade?
Kathleen said: “I love bread. I can do cakes, but I love bread.
“I actually wanted to be a cook when I left school and coming from a small island my mum was like ‘I’m not having you move away to some big hotel somewhere.’
“She said ‘You’re too young, I’m going to find you an apprenticeship in a bakery.’
“It turns out she knew me better than I knew myself because I absolutely loved being in MacKenzie’s.
“I love taking all the raw ingredients and turning them into something really tasty and really special.”
Overcoming fears to take plunge with first business
Kathleen started working at The Little Lunchbox about 10 years ago, back when it was known as Gemma’s Lunchbox under previous ownership.
When the business was put up for sale, she was instantly tempted to take the reins for herself.
However, without any experience running a firm she was anxious.
She admits didn’t know the first thing about bookkeeping. What if everything went wrong?
Today she’s only got one piece of advice for those on the fence about starting their own business for the first time.
Kathleen said: “Whatever you do, do it with your heart, and just enjoy it.
“You’ll only get out of it what you put into it. I’m a firm believer of that. Just give it all you’ve got.
“You’ve got to take that chance at some point because you’ll never know until you do it.
“Yeah, it’s hard. I work hard. One of the scariest things I’ve ever done is shutting the shop during Covid.
“I went home as a single parent not knowing where my next payment was coming from. We got through it though.
“It’s a huge learning curve and not something I ever dreamed I would do, but I’ve loved every minute.”
How Elgin lunchtime customers at The Little Lunchbox have changed
The Covid pandemic changed the way many of us lived our lives.
Although the various restrictions are a distant memory, things have never gone back to how they were with more office workers working from home.
For Kathleen and The Little Lunchbox, it has meant changing the business to ensure they’re not solely depending on customers walking into the tiny shop.
Just yards away, whisky giants Gordon and MacPhail closed their sandwich shop during Covid and it has never returned.
But Kathleen is still standing, explaining: “Things have changed dramatically. The walk-ins just aren’t the same.
“A lot of that is down to working from home. That has had a knock-on effect for the rest of the business.
“I would say that’s across the board in the town centre. I think it would even stretch up to the supermarkets, because people aren’t stopping off in the shops on the way home like they used to.
“It does make it more scary, but you have to adapt to it, and we have adapted to it.
“The way we’ve worked with it is we now do a lot more on the outside catering to meet people’s needs.
“Nothing stays the same and you have to evolve with it.”
Close bond with The Little Lunchbox’s Elgin customers
Kathleen has now spent 10 years behind the Harrow Inn Close counter, first as an employee and now as a business owner.
During that time she has seen regular customers grow from school pupils into professional workers, military personnel and parents.
Meanwhile, she has formed links with fellow businesses on the busy shopping close.
Kathleen is adamant that her customers have played as an important part of shaping the business as she has done herself.
She said: “The only rule in the shop is ‘What happens in the shop stays in the shop.’
“Sometimes the customers want to come in and have a laugh, sometimes they just want to talk, sometimes they just stand there and cry.
“It’s so lovely watching some of these customers grow. Seeing them every day is what gets me going every morning.
“The thing is though, we don’t know most people’s names. We only know them by their orders.
“So we’ll say things like ‘cajun chicken and cheese on a panini is having a baby’.
“It’s so lovely though. I’ve had customers that have come in for years and I’ve ended up doing their weddings, baby showers, I just love it.”
‘Magic in the air in The Little Lunchbox’
Space is at a premium inside The Little Lunchbox. It is probably one of the most cramped units in the town centre.
The takeaway is also down one of the many closes off the High Street, far from where it might be seen by any passing drivers.
However, Kathleen is adamant she wouldn’t move The Little Lunchbox to anywhere else in Elgin.
She said: “People come in, they get to see what they’re having, they get to pick it, they get to see it getting made.
“They watch us like a hawk, they watch us putting cucumber in a salad.
“There’s a magic in the air here, people like coming here.
“It’s like if I buy fruit in a shop, take it home and make a fruit salad, it won’t take anywhere near what it tastes like in a shop.
“Coming into the close is good too. You come in that cosy little alley, it’s almost like we’re a little secret.
“You can walk past the close and not even notice it’s there. There’s something special about the whole street, it’s not just the shop.”
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