An Inverness woman says she has made one of the hardest decisions of her life by listing her mobile food business for sale.
Lynda Jepson said she no longer has the energy to run Bagpipe Bistro on Thornbush Road.
After starting the multi-cuisine food truck just 10 days before the first lockdown, she said it has been the “craziest” four years of her life.
After starting by offering breakfast and burgers, the van has since progressed to offering dishes from across the world.
How a concert inspired Inverness business Bagpipe Bistro
Prior to starting Bagpipe Bistro, Lynda had spent 30 years in sales – from selling furniture in Inverness to finding buyers for top end Spanish apartments.
The idea behind the bistro van all started from a tongue-in-cheek comment while Lynda and her husband Phil were at a Proclaimers concert.
She said: “We went to the concert and when Phil came back from the burger van he told me we should buy one of our own. It was a throwaway comment.
“The next day I asked him if I should have a look and he said ‘go on then’.
“Two weeks later we had our own burger van – we fly by the seat of our pants.”
Bagpipe Bistro offers food from several regions of the world including the far-east, Italy and Spain.
Lynda added: “We introduced food that we’d tasted from around the world and from living in Spain.
“The only place I think I’ve never cooked from is France – people are eating stuff they’d never even heard of.”
Decision to sell ‘one of the toughest I’ve had to make’
Lynda said the decision to give up Bagpipe Bistro wasn’t an easy one but was one she felt she had to make.
She said: “The only reason I’m giving it up is because my knees don’t work anymore.
“I had a couple of weeks off at Christmas time because I was absolutely exhausted.
“When I went back I realised I didn’t have the energy to do it anymore.
“I just cried my eyes out on the sofa which is not like me at all – in my head I was already writing thank you to our customers.”
Lynda is looking forward to the future but hasn’t planned anything yet.
She added: “What’s next for me? Maybe to see The Proclaimers again.
“In all seriousness, I don’t even know what tomorrow’s special is – the universe will take care of me.”
Bagpipe Bistro belongs to community, says owner
Lynda said “the food is secondary” at Bagpipe Bistro with such a close-knit community in Inverness.
One member of the Merkinch area, where the business is based, even had a burger named after him.
Lynda said: “I’m not joking – everyone has been so kind and supportive, they really are like family.
“The people of Merkinch almost own the van, they’re so proud of it. We even have a burger named after one of the guys – the Kevin burger.
“He’s really chuffed and always encouraging customers to order his burger when he’s here.”
A price for Bagpipe Bistro is available to interested parties upon request.
Conversation