All this week The Glasgow Times is featuring the six candidates hoping to be voted Glasgow's Favourite Business for 2021.

The award, sponsored by this paper, is part of the Glasgow Business Awards organised by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce with Royal Bank of Scotland as the main sponsor.

There’s stiff competition for the crown of the South Sides best brunch spot, but Grain and Grind, who specialise in handmade bakes and pastries as well as artisan roasted coffee, are undeniably strong contenders for the title.

Co-owner and founder of the business, Matthew Mustard, says that it’s a mix of community support, great locations and a strong vision for Grain and Grind which has allowed them to grow to where they are today.

He said: “We opened our first Battlefield shop back in 2018 with the ethos of doing good brunch and great coffee.

“The name for the business came from our ambition to get into wholesale coffee as well as doing our own baking so you have the grain which is our bread and the grind which is our coffee beans.

“Over the course of our first year we bought our first coffee roaster and we’ve just kept growing since.”

Glasgow Times:

Pictured: Co-owner Matthew Mustard at Grain and Grind Cathcart

In only three years since the opening of their first shop, Matthew and his business partner John Gartly have opened three new Glasgow locations. 

The latest of which is The Bakery by Grain and Grind, a small but bustling shop on Victoria Road which is rarely seen without a queue down the street.

Matthew said: “The bakery is something a little bit different, we sell fresh deli-style sandwiches and concentrate more on our bread and pastries.

“We try to make it so that all of our shops have their own unique style but still have the same look and feel to them.

“Although we have multiple locations now we still try really hard to keep that small business ethos that we started with.

“We always aim to make everything ourselves or if we do have to source anything from elsewhere then we’ll make sure that it comes from within the local area.

“Doing that allows us to pursue our own ideas and adapt our menus and products to suit each shop.

“It’s also good because I think people in the South Side have quite environmentally conscious heads on them so they’re happy to support that kind of  thinking.”

Glasgow Times:

As well as supporting their sustainable ideals, there's no mistaking that the South Side community has played an integral part in shaping the Grain and Grind's identity over the years.

Matthew said: “I think one of the main reasons for our success is absolutely the people of the South Side and the neighbourly vibe in the area.

“For a while, there wasn’t a lot going on and people would have to travel to the West End or city centre for the kind of thing we do.

"However in the last three years or so there’s been such a big change to that. There are so many cool, young independent businesses that have opened up.

“I think the fact that rent is lower means that the South Side really gives a platform to places that wouldn’t have been able to get their start anywhere else.

“Now you have people who are actually travelling from the West End to come to us which is a good sign of things to come.”

Reflecting on Grain and Grind’s journey so far, Matthew feels that it was their first home in Battlefied that has given the team the tools to succeed.

He said: “Looking back sometimes I don’t know how we’ve done it. It just seems that we opened one shop and were driven forward by the amount of support we received.

“It’s really what has allowed us to expand in the way we have.

“Opening our first shop in the South Side is one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.”

Glasgow Times:

The Glasgow Business Awards are hosted by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Winners will be announced at the award ceremony at DoubleTree by Hilton on the October 7 2021, with voting for Glasgow’s Favourite Business opening on Monday 23rd August 2021.