Anne and Gary Still are celebrating the opening of the Copper Still on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile … named after them… only joking. But their newest venue has been a journey. Susan Young caught up with them to find out more.
For those of you who don’t know Anne and Gary Still the couple are the powers behind the award-winning Whiski bar and Whiski Rooms and Charwood in Edinburgh and own a retail shop also dedicated to whisky. But the opening of their latest venue Copper Still has been their biggest challenge to date.
The couple who met while studying for IT degrees at Napier in Edinburgh, spent time working in the corporate IT and investment fields in Edinburgh and London before returning to Edinburgh. They then took on their first lease which became Whiski on High Street in 2006. Says Anne, “We actually wanted to buy a hotel because we loved hospitality, however, Gary came back with news of a pub on High Street! It was also a lease which I was not too happy about.”
Luckily for the couple, the financial crash of 2008 allowed them to buy the lease from Punch Taverns, so it is now freehold as are their other venues – Whiski Rooms and Charwood and now Copper Still. But it is the latter which has caused them the biggest headache. They bought the outlet in 2019 and it had a tenant who, during the first lockdown of the pandemic, went into administration and the couple were left without keys to the premises until October 2020.
Explains Anne, “It was a nightmare. We certainly had never planned on getting another bar right in the middle of a pandemic. We couldn’t even get the administrator to speak to us and we were worried that we would lose the premise licence.” But their problems didn’t end there.
Says Gary, “The build itself was an experience, with delays caused by damp, asbestos and changes to the design, as well as shortages of building materials such as steel. “We had one company, Laidlaws, managing the project, and they brought in all the trades, while KBAD, who we had worked with before on Whiski Rooms, were the architects, but both were very involved during the whole project”.
He cites the moving of the stairs in the Copper Still as an example. They have been moved from the front of the bar to the back. “The architects were not keen, but I could see that it would give us much more space. And it does. But a structural change like that meant we needed structural engineers to be brought in, and doing the stairs took so much longer than expected.”
Anne smiles, “When we started on the refurbishment it was April 2021 and we projected it would only take a few months. But we hadn’t planned on doing one throughout a pandemic and everything took longer than expected. In hindsight perhaps we should just have traded the pub as it was until now.”
However, despite the challenges of carrying out a complete refurbishment, both are delighted with the outcome.
Gary showed me photographs of the bar before the refurbishment, and tells me the whole bar has been taken back to a shell. It was rewired, re-plumbed, floors were dug out, stairs moved, the frontage was taken off, and windows were opened up at the back to bring in more light.
He continues, “The workmanship is great. A lot of effort has gone into everything. Even the curve of the bar… it was very much a bespoke job and we tried to maximise the space as much as possible within the property.”
Today the bar is a kaleidoscope of colour – vibrant orange, mustard and green leather seating, and a colourful mural complements the exposed stone walls, wood panelling and antique-like mirrors.
Says Anne, “We have used colours we like. We didn’t want it to be totally traditional, but colourful and warm. I chose the lampshades which are by Anna Hayman. I follow her on Instagram and I love her work, while the mural was done by a Scottish artist whose art we used a lot in Charwood – Diedododa. We wanted a Scottish themed mural and she created it perfectly for us.”
The bar is a real classic, but is also bespoke, with a white marble top (there are also marble tiles on the floor adjacent to the bar) while the carved edge of the bar is a credit to the carpenter. It is a real joy to see and touch. Above the bar, the glasses are cradled on stainless steel racks, while the back bar too is stainless steel with a modern open look – and many whisky bottles!
Downstair has more square footage than upstairs and the vibrant naturesque wallpaper is striking. Here a new kitchen, cellar, toilets, office and a further entertaining space has been created in an old Vault, which runs underneath High Street. To create headspace the floor here has been lowered and the vault has been fully damp proofed and the curved vault walls finished with a textured plaster and fixed seating – but this is still to be completed.
Says Anne, “We will use this space for whisky tastings and private events. We deliberately kept the finish more rustic to fit in with the vault’s historic feel.”
The kitchen now boasts its own dumbwaiter and has been totally kitted out. Before it was put in staff had to carry the food up the stairs!
The cellar is beside the kitchen and has also benefitted from the floors being lowered. They have also put in Heineken’s SmartDispense. Says Anne “We are so happy with the SmartDispense system. It is completely hassle-free, beer quality is excellent and easy to change kegs etc. service is spot on.
“They come once a month to service it and Gary says it’s one of the best decisions he has made, changing to Smart Dispense during lockdown.”
The gents and ladies toilets are on the same floor and have been wallpapered from top to toe – with statement paper – the mens follows the naturesque feel of the stairwell and corridor while the ladies feature a multi-colour extravaganza.
The Copper Still has been re-created from top to toe and the couple have spent much more than they planned to, but now they want to make the most of what they hope will be a busy year.
Gary comments, “At the end of last year, we thought things were getting back to normal. Our places were doing very well up until mid-December. Then the announcement came to avoid hospitality.”
Anne continues, “We had a barrage of cancellations. In fact, we had to cancel our Hogmanay celebrations.”
Says Gary, “People are slowly coming back to the offices although we are still missing customers that previously came from the City Council offices, which are nearby because these offices have not yet really reopened. We also get plenty of local traffic, but tourists have been scarce. We are hoping that tourism will soon get back on track.”
Today with the opening of Copper Still, a name the couple registered a number of years ago, their estate Omni Taverns is now five-strong. It has been, says Gary, “relatively slow growth.” But explains Anne, “That is because we like to buy freehold sites.”
The two also have quite different roles within the business. Anne looks after the accounts, marketing and deals with the suppliers while Gary deals with the operational aspects of the business.
I asked them whether they put their IT skills to good use. “Absolutely,” says Anne. “We probably could do more if we had more time. We are definitely the techiest in the company and if we had the time we would automate more.
He is also the whisky fan, although Anne does drink it, she has more of a preference for wine. But Gary utilises his IT skills here too. He explains, “I look at what is selling and make sure we have the most popular brands in each of our places. For instance, here we don’t have such a big gantry but we still have a selection of our most popular whiskies .”
The couple’s two children also have a keen interest in the business with their son having already joined and their daughter, who is at university, working in the bar when she is free. Anne says, “It is great that they are both interested in the business.”
It is indeed. This family-run business, which now has more than 100 employees, is definitely one to watch.
The pop-up idea originated across the pond in Los Angeles, where retailers initially started selling limited edition items from temporary stores, but the trend soon caught on here as UK businesses realised that the concept offers a great way to trial new brands, create a marketing buzz around a particular product or even to attract sponsorship and financial deals – all while keeping their overheads to a minimum.
But it is not quite as simple as setting up stall wherever and whenever the mood takes. Anyone wanting to run a pop-up still needs a licence to operate legally – or they risk fines of up to £20,000 or even jail.
Janet Hood, of Janet Hood Consulting, says pop-ups might have a temporary and spontaneous aura about them but they still require an occasional licence for the area and times they wish to operate – and that could take from one to six months to get processed, depending on which part of the country the licensee is applying in.
She says, “They need to specify any other activities, like sale of food, live music, dancing whatever and whether or not persons under 18 can see the area. Consents may be required from environmental health and building standards and if the pop up is to serve an event it may be necessary for a public entertainment licence to be sought by the event operators. In certain cases they will also need to have a waste removal contract in place. The application is usually posted on the licensing board web site and anyone on earth has a chance to object.”
The benefits of a pop-up is that it draw crowds of people to an area and the fact that they are only open for a short time creates a sense of excitement and urgency – encouraging punters to engage with the products on offer before it is too late and they miss out.
And at peak times of the year, such as the Edinburgh Festival or the Christmas period, when thousands of visitors arrive in the capital to soak up the culture and atmosphere, they really come into their own.
Edinburgh City Council grants around 2,000 occasional licences each year, including for the Festival, the Christmas period and a large variety of other events. The applications are advertised online for seven days to allow anyone who wishes to object or make representations to do so. In addition, the police have seven days to comment on applications and Licensing Standard officers have 21 days to do so.
Pop-up bars are clearly big business with growing numbers of firms keen to get in on the action but are there downsides to them? Do they have a negative impact on existing bars and businesses in the capital that operate year round?
David Johnston, Development Director for Montpeliers (Edinburgh) Ltd, has two views on pop-ups. He says, “From a positive perspective pop-up bars in interesting places which are built around food and drink can be a good thing. In small time spans they can really bring focus to a particular product or aspect of hospitality. It can be really fun and great for invigorating the industry.”
But David also believes that the huge number of pop-ups at particular times of the year can have a negative impact on the capital. He says, “Where I think it’s absolutely atrocious is when you take something like the Edinburgh Festival, for example. Over the last five to ten years there has been an absolute glut of pop-up bars which come in from out with the city and soak up a lot of the trade this is also increasingly the case over Christmas. I don’t think there is enough control on temporary licences at these key periods. In many cases it appears very easy to get a temporary licence.
“Licensing Boards have to look very closely at what the industry is capable of sustaining as it is and will continue to stifle our ability to invest in our businesses. As a result of these additional bars these days we are not getting the peaks in trade in the same way we used to but the troughs are there just the same. This in turn is having an impact on employment and the local economy. The criteria that you need in order to get a temporary licence are nothing like as rigorous as what you have in a standard license situation.
“Some of the larger events companies arrive with staff from south of the Border and they often don’t use local suppliers either. They come in and make a lot of money, which they take it away with them. But the guys who are here permanently, paying rates all year long, are not getting the same benefit back from it.”
He concludes, “The licensing process for pop-ups should be as rigorous as it is for other situations. For the good of the industry, the local economy and crucially the public I think it’s time to step back and take a good look at what the whole picture looks like.”
Kevin McGhee, who owns Athletic Arms, in Edinburgh, echoes some of these concerns. He says, “I’m not in favour, to be honest, although they do serve a purpose. We are not impacted directly but they do take prominent positions in the middle of the street and it seems a bit unfair.
“They reap the benefits without having to slug away during the slow months of the year like January and February.
“Some of them are obviously just trying to get their brands out there. It seems to be the same companies that are getting the contracts. A lot of them seem to make a lot of money.”
Anne and Gary Still, who own and run WHISKI on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, Whisky Rooms and Charwood also agree. They say, “Pop up bars are good for the city residents as it keeps things interesting.
“However the price is too low with a simple application fee to set one up and when compared to the costs permanent operators pay for rent and other costs all year round, it does put them at a disadvantage when the competition heats up with pop up bars, typically during peak seasons.”
But not everyone feels the same way. Mike Smith, manager of Bow Bar, says, “I don’t mind pop-ups and I don’t think they have a negative impact on my business. The Festival is busy enough for everyone. They can draw more people into the city, into the area and that means more foot fall.
“If someone did a pop-up whisky bar nearby it would be direct competition but other than that they don’t really affect us. We are a niche bar, people seek us out for good whisky, they come here especially for something. I don’t mind pop-ups as long as they are good.”
Whatever the different views, one thing is certain – pop-ups may be temporary in nature but they are definitely here to stay. Councillor Eric Milligan, Licensing Board Convener, said, “Edinburgh is a world-renowned city which attracts millions of people each year to visit, study or work, which can lead to high demand for services at certain times of the year. The Licensing Board consistently looks at all applications fairly and objectively, and without bias. Members of the public are welcome to comment, and the views of bodies such as Police Scotland are also considered.”
What is your view on pop-ups? Let us know at dram@mail.com
Charwood in Fairmilehead, Edinburgh is the latest venture from Omni Taverns, operators of Whiski and The Whiski Rooms. The venue marks a slight departure for company directors Anne and Gary Still, with the focus being on chargrilled meat rather than the water of life.
The restaurant had previously been called Tusitala, with the previous owners having operated the site for 24 years. Says Anne, “We’d been coming here with our kids since they were young, which is why we bought it. It was an off-market sale, totally confidential. It never occurred to me that it would be for sale, and we would never have approached the owners had they not gotten in contact with us first.”
Once the deal was proposed however both Anne and Gary knew exactly what they wanted to do with the site. Anne told me, “We already had the concept in mind, we always knew that we wanted to focus on cooking with charcoal and a grill. The kitchen here is huge, and we knew we had the space and capability to use a Josper grill. Gary’s from South Africa and is very into his BBQs; he’d always wanted a Josper grill in Whiski or Whiski Rooms but there just wasn’t the space. We closed the restaurant for three days to replace the kitchen vents and install the grill. We then re-opened as Charwood.”
The main refurbishment took place in the bar however, which is located in a separate room from the restaurant. Anne told me that they inherited a run-down, traditional sports bar that was in desperate need of refurbishment and modernisation, and as such they decided to rip everything out and start again. The refit took 11 days, during which time the room was stripped to its shell. Anne told me, “We re-clad the bar and put a new top on it; that is literally the only thing left over from the old room.”
The bar dominates the room, with the beech bar top stretching out over six metres. Five leather stools line the bar, varying in colour from forest green to burgundy to beige. Walnut floor panelling outlines the bar area; the rest of the room’s floor is beech in colour. The gantry features LED lighting across the shelves and distressed mirrors along the back. Although the Stills are looking to differentiate Charwood from their other venues the backbar still features a healthy selection of whiskies, and the wall at the bar’s service entrance displays two black and white photographs of the Balblair distillery. Hanging above the bar top are a series of bold, metal lamp shades. Anne told me, “We changed our mind constantly over the lights, we wanted to be brighter than our other two venues and we also wanted to make a statement.” They have certainly achieved that.
Due to the immediate necessity of the refurbishment the Stills chose not to employ an interior designer, preferring instead to realise their own vision. When it came to fitting the furniture in the room Anne tells me that they remained undecided about the layout even after the bar was open for trade. Says Anne, “We like wood panelling and wanted fixed seating that we could also move around. We had tables and chesterfields in mind, and we just fitted them around the space. It looks different even now from when we first started, but the look should be settled now!”
There are three banks of fixed banquettes along the main bar wall, divided by two raised wooden tables. The leather banquettes are olive green, and face onto beech, square tables and a mix of brown leather armchairs and green and purple tweed seating. The white walls above the banquettes are lined with dog-themed artwork; Anne told me that the bar is very dog-friendly and that her dog is a regular visitor. The raised tables are decorated with small, metal plant pots and tea-light candles, and are positioned by the windows, which look out onto Charwood’s outdoor seating area and the homes of Fairmilehead. Smart looking black, leather bar stools sit underneath the tables.
An olive green chesterfield sofa sits in the centre of the floor space. Behind it is a small, square beech table flanked on either side by large, tweed armchairs, and on the bar-side wall are two more banquettes, this time beige in colour. The accompanying seats differ on this side of the bar, featuring cushioned seating in purple, wooden frames.
A small, secluded outdoor seating area sits on a raised level outside the bar’s entrance, and wooden benches have been introduced to the grass areas on the opposite side of Charwood’s car park.
The end result of the refurbishment is a relaxed and comfortable bar that should prove extremely popular with the affluent families that populate Fairmilehead. Despite the success of the refit Anne told me that there are currently no plans in place for a major refurbishment of Charwood’s restaurant, saying, “Over time we’ll make superficial changes but we’re quite happy with its layout, it’s a great space.” After a few weeks of hard work, she is now able to say that about the bar too.