Under The Counter could only nod approvingly when he heard that a London-based specialist Scottish foodstore had run out of Tennent’s and Irn-Bru on its opening weekend.
The shop, called Shoap, is located in Angel, Islington – a place UTC had only ever come across before while cheating at Monopoly.
Technically, London’s first-ever Scottish café-deli, Shoap is the brainchild of Kirkintilloch native Gregg Boyd, a former economist who ditched the spreadsheets during lockdown to start a hot haggis, neeps and tatties home delivery service catering to the capital’s homesick Scots before expanding into a bricks and mortar business.
Shoap sells a vast range of scran including well-fired morning rolls, shortbread, Dundee cake, Ecclefechan tarts and tattie scones.
All of the products are apparently “sourced from small Scottish producers”. This description of multi-million-pound brands Tennent’s and Irn-Bru left the Auld Boy wondering what Gregg must think a large Scottish producer looks like.
