28/7/2008We turned a charity shop into the best cafe bar in Britain
When David Skilling and Malcolm Mackenzie made plans to travel the world they never imagined their dream would lead to Dennistoun.
The duo chucked their jobs in four years ago to trot around the globe, but somewhere along the line the East End proved a bigger lure than the bright lights of the world's capitals.
Crazy? Well, they can't stop smiling but that may have something to do with the trophy Malcolm is holding in the picture.
They are the owners of Cafe Tibo and it has just been named the best new cafe/bar in Britain by top trade magazine Theme.
It beat some stiff competition from many of the best-known names in the pub and restaurant industry, including London bar owner Oliver Peyton, who appeared on BBC show, The Great British Menu.
As well as impressing the judges, Tibo is also bringing people from other parts of Glasgow to the East End to catch a bite and a bottle of beer.
Not bad for a site which was once an old charity shop.
"We're pleased," says David, 33. "When we launched Tibo two years ago we were worried about whether we had timed things right and whether there would be a market here for what we wanted to create.
"And now we've developed a place that has impressed judges from across the UK. It's great."
Their smiles and the award at the end of the bar disguise something that was a big gamble for the duo - and required a major change of lifestyle for both of them.
David worked for the Scottish Executive, while Malcolm, 26, was a watersports instructor.
The original plan was to put some money in the bank and travel the world.
But instead, in the autumn of 2004, they put down the atlas and lifted the Glasgow A to Z, swapped the airmiles for a trip to the petrol station, and moved to Dennistoun.
"The dream was to travel," says Malcolm.
"But we looked at it and came to the decision that a better dream to follow would be our dream job.
"Malcolm and I had harboured ambitions to run our own business, so we thought - let's do it. But neither of us had any real experience in this kind of thing.
"The closest either of us had was my bar experience from working in restaurants and pubs."
For two years the pair, both originally from Glasgow, looked around venues and shops across the East End. At that time they had a lot of choice.
The newbuilds that can be seen from the M8 had still to be built, and along Duke Street there were still plenty of To Let signs and run-down, boarded-up properties to choose from.
Poring over maps, they eventually spotted the place that would become Tibo.
"There was a bit of convincing to do. It took a year to sort out the lease and we had to show the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust that the demographics were right and how a place like Tibo could survive here," explains Malcolm.
"We weren't trying to replicate a West End bar and deli, but our concept would have made more sense to some being opened there than on Duke Street.
"But things were right - there were young professionals, artists and there was investment, the house prices were climbing too.
"When we showed them they bought into it."
While Stefan King and James Mortimer have the benefit of millions to invest and a team of interior designers to develop a place, Malcolm and David had just £30,000 and the help of Malcolm's dad, who is a joiner.
Almost every detail of the 50-cover bar and restaurant is their own work. From the old jam jars for the ketchup through to the reclaimed tables from an old university science lab, it is all their handiwork.
Even less glamorous jobs like the back-breaking work of ripping out the suspended ceiling - which cut the turn-of-the-century shop in two - was carried out by them, as was the wooden panel sitting 25 feet up that had to be installed to hide the old ceiling's grips.
One of the best design details was born out of necessity. The wood flooring, which looks rich with different colours of wood, is actually wooden panelling used for flooring lofts.
On paper it might sound like the kind of thing that would have TV designers Colin and Justin weeping over their macchiato, but it looks brilliant, especially after two years of the feet of satisfied customers shuffling over it.