Army officer turned barista has big plans for Bigton coffee bar and roastery

Alex and Sarah Green with their daughter Orla and, insert, the former Bigton Cafe. Photo: Ben Mullay.

A popular pop-up could soon be serving freshly roasted coffee and artisan bakes from a permanent base in the South Mainland.

Budding barista Alex Green is looking to buy the former Bigton Cafe to open a new venture, centred around a coffee bar and roastery.

Mr Green has been developing his coffee credentials alongside the Bigton Weekend Bakery, which is hosted on Saturday mornings at Hymhus – the converted former kirk – and has received rave reviews.

He hopes the bakery’s founder, Gus Dow, will continue to work alongside him, combining coffee, bread and pastries in the new venture.

Mr Green recently left the army, having served 16 years as an officer in the Royal Engineers.

He moved to Shetland in July last year with his wife, Sarah, and their five-year-old daughter, Orla.

Mr Green said his wife had “always dreamed of one day owning the Bigton cafe”.

He said the village was the perfect location for their new venture.

“The community in Bigton are incredible, and we hope the support we have received at the pop-ups will translate across to the new venture,” he said.

“The nearby playpark is one of the best in the South End and that attracts lots of families, so we hope we’ll get visitors all year round.

“And with St Ninian’s attracting so many tourists throughout the summer, that’s another benefit.”

Mr Green hopes to complete the purchase on the building in the coming weeks.

As it has been unoccupied for over 10 years, he will spend the next few months renovating it in time to open for the start of the 2025 season.

Mr Green plans to run the coffee roastery, which he is calling Stakkadale after the site in the village where the family are building their home, alongside the coffee bar.

The coffee bar is hosted in the old cafe building, which Mr Green plans to rename The Muckle Baa, after the sub-surface rock formation in St Ninian’s bay.

Mr Green said the vibrant business scene in Bigton was “quite exciting”.

“There’s a lot going on,” he said.

“It’s a little hot bed of start-up businesses, and we are working closely to support each other.”

Pick up tomorrow’s edition of The Shetland Times for a full report.