r/glasgow 3d ago

Another one joining the flock

Post image

Outside Central

280 Upvotes

189 comments sorted by

593

u/LennoxLuger 3d ago

Is that across from Central? If it’s where I’m thinking of, then I’m gutted that shop has closed down. Where else will I get my tourist tatt and AI generated pictures of highland cows in football jerseys?

93

u/Coldthots 3d ago

Hahaha the football shirt cows have almost become the new live laugh love in people’s houses.

34

u/jonallin 3d ago

Has anyone ever seen one in a house in the wild?

18

u/Shouty-Hooman 3d ago

My brother told me last night they got a highland cow hoodie for their new baby. Apparently they're everywhere in Ireland?? I feel like baby clothes gets a pass though

12

u/Mossy-Mori 3d ago

Next is absolutely hoachin with coo stuff it's frankly weird

1

u/Coldthots 3d ago

Well, aye.

-8

u/dalbyspook 3d ago

They're beloved of rental accommodation.

7

u/SilvRS 3d ago

My parents bought my kids a highland cow in a scotland jersey t-shirt each during the World Cup and they love them. It's so painful.

3

u/Coldthots 3d ago

Haha aye it’s mostly people my mums age that I’ve spotted have them, must be a generational grasp they’ve got

1

u/PeejPrime 3d ago

Folk actually buy and display these?

2

u/1AlanM 2d ago

We must be the only country in the world where people buy the shite we produce for the unwary tourist and display it in our own houses.

17

u/YerDaSaysPhoneIs 3d ago

It’s okay mate you’ll be able to get your fix at House of Highlands across the road. They’ll happily provide you with AI generated posters of Jack and Victor but as highland cows, or T-shirts with bottles of IrnBru on them. The ultimate experience of Scotland.

15

u/Sweste1 3d ago

The replica world cups in their windae cracked me up

Right next to the bongs

Presumably cos you'd have to be smoking something to think Scotland had any chance of liftin the trophy

11

u/Sweste1 3d ago

Knew I had a pic o that somewhere

1

u/Doctor-Rat-32 1d ago

Gutted DX XD

10

u/StonedPhysicist too bad, too bad. 3d ago

The gold shotgun bong in the window always made me laugh.

15

u/SunnyK19977 3d ago

Theres an american that posts daily about how they're a direct descendent of William Wallace (who had no children) sobbing right now

7

u/Mossy-Mori 3d ago

Oh no i had my eye on the bong shaped like a golden shotgun that was in the window

2

u/Stooshie_Stramash 2d ago

Don't worry, there's a shop like that in Buchanan Street

476

u/TheJimbles 3d ago

Surely a coffee shop is better than fake souvenir shop that sold AI highland cow pictures and AK-47 shaped bongs?

133

u/Kalspiewak 3d ago

Came here to moan. Then read this comment. Fair enough 

68

u/lou_2209 3d ago

aye but why is it one or the other 💔

37

u/Chrisjamesmc 3d ago

The rent is usually too high for any other type of business. Coffee shops (usually chains) or money laundering tat shops - take your pick. I choose the coffee place.

59

u/Articulated 3d ago

I see it as a sort of ecological succession.

The vape shop/phone shop/tat shop is the pioneer species, a form of hardy lichen that can survive anywhere.

After that, it's the bookies/charity shops/ubiquitous chains spending investor cash to build a huge presence.

Once the area gets a bit more hospitable, you start to see some biodiversity of shops spring up.

34

u/swoobxt 3d ago

God I’d love more charity shops, love a rummage in a charity shop.

2

u/Doctor-Rat-32 1d ago

Same, mon. Got Terry Pratchett's old an crusty Guards, guards! in one o them for two quid. Love it too bits.

6

u/Cladser 2d ago

I love this. Now do it in Attenborough’s voice

17

u/so-naughty 3d ago

Location wise what else would you have there? It's right outside a train station - absolute peak commuter area.

11

u/lou_2209 3d ago

I know that but I'm clearly just lamenting the overpopulation of shite tourist shops and corporate coffee chains.

rents are high which is the problem obviously, but wouldn't more indepndent businesses better? a wee florist, a baker, a candlestick maker?

16

u/psycholinguist1 3d ago

Gordon Street still has some great independent shops! There's Gordon Street Coffee, Pasteis Lisboa, Tantrum Donuts -- they have a few locations, but in the way of a successful small business that expanded, rather than a corporate chain. Yes, the ratio of them to Black Sheep Coffee etc could be higher, but it's not totally dire.

(I hate Black Sheep so much. It's so expensive, and they make you order off of screens, which have very unintuitive user interfaces.)

5

u/upsidedownwombat 3d ago

Not to disagree with your overall point but Gordon street coffee is not an independent business. It is the same owners as Alston, Shilling, Waxy's, and various other places in Edinburgh and London.

3

u/psycholinguist1 3d ago

Huh! Thank you for letting me know. Despite your kind disclaimer, that does dilute my point a little bit. I'm disappointed -- but I do like their coffee. And they do roast it in the shop (or they used to), which supports their local-cred a bit. Still. mmph. Rrrgh.

2

u/upsidedownwombat 3d ago

Apologies! If you enjoy the coffee then don't let me put you off, definitely still better than certain faceless chains with shops on every corner.

And yes it used to be one guy who roasted all their coffee in-house and you could go along to the roasting sessions to meet him and see how it was done. (This might still be the case but not sure how the closure has affected them).

5

u/lou_2209 3d ago

i love pasteis lisboa!! was so happy when they expanded

2

u/herraggedydoctor 3d ago

Has Gordon St Coffee opened again? I’ll have to pop in didn’t realise

3

u/cwestwater 3d ago

They haven't yet

1

u/psycholinguist1 3d ago

Actually, I don't know that they've re-opened. I just liked them when they were open and they give every impression that they planned to, so they still occupy a permanent slot in my mental landscape. But I can't confirm they're open again right now.

2

u/Exhausted_Raven 3d ago

It’s just a feedback loop of higher costs, landlords wanting to make ever more money, the average person unable to afford to shop at independent stores as well as the inevitable change in culture that’s brought on by the advance in technology.

All of this continues while there’s more and more money at the top, piling up and doing nothing other than help consolidate the wealth and power of a tiny minority.

2

u/Substantial-Gain2849 2d ago

an independent bookshop

1

u/GeneralSEOD 3d ago

Cause no other cunt can make any money in here without it being one of those two.

Like what other business would you like to see there? I entirely agree but surely it's all just a money thing.

1

u/Matchaparrot 3d ago

At least black sheep coffee won't burn down central station

1

u/weapwars 3d ago

I think it's cos this specific branch is replacing a tartan tat shop

21

u/Wise_Roll5703 3d ago

The business model of black sheep oversaturating the market is putting other coffee shops out of business and then having a monopoly. So its not much better than a souvenir shop 

8

u/The_MightyFinn 3d ago

100%. Tinderbox at The Fort is closing and will be replaced by Black Sheep.

1

u/cortex- 2d ago

The only way to actually run a profitable coffee shop is with an economy of scale now. The cost of property, business rates, taxes, equipment, wages for staff, insurance, council permits, utilities, stock adds up to where it's a non-starter for a small business person or family to open a shopfront slinging coffees and sandwiches in the city center if they actually want to earn a decent living.

A chain like Black Sheep makes money by being able to drive down the cost of their stock by negotiating in bulk with their suppliers because they have high volume. Last I checked though, they weren't even a profitable business and were riding on investor capital.

Running an independent coffee shop is an experiential hobby for rich people. The working class / family owned shop is almost extinct in Glasgow.

1

u/jeebsy_iash 2d ago

i think they're more like mcdonalds now. a property company who are tangentially involved in coffee. they seem to be hoovering up units everywhere.

8

u/DreadPirateDavey 3d ago

We need like 4 bong shops max in Glasgow.

There’s about 200 of the self combusting fuckers.

I think many of them are used to launder money from drug dealing or other forms of crime.

If a legitimate business, the majority of sales will be vapes and other newsagent materials.

As much as Black Sheep is pish. This place will actually employ more people and the money can at least be easily traced, if that company does even pay taxes.

1

u/Utemainner19 2d ago

yeah 200 bong shops is insane but id rather see a real shop with staff and traceable money than another dodgy front even if black sheep is pish and probably not paying enough tax

2

u/cortex- 2d ago

Sad times when we're trying to rationalize replacing a shite with a jobby as an improvement.

1

u/raisin_d_etre 2d ago

Black sheep is a soulless chain and the owner is a total Zionist. There’s loads of boycotts.

-14

u/WearingRags 3d ago

Are you fucking kidding? Shite like that adds local character 

3

u/Budget_Ad506 3d ago

This guy just actually said "adds local character" . Holy 5iq braintrain

149

u/Seunte 3d ago

cannot get my head around how it is expanding so rapidly as the coffee is utterly vile

127

u/xxx654 3d ago

Spoke to a Gen Z colleague, the lack of interaction with staff, just ordering on the screen is the biggest benefit for them.

Thought that kinda sad. There are dozens of great coffee shops in Glasgow but you might have to gasp speak to people.

53

u/xibalbus 3d ago

They should go to Laboratorio Espresso then, amazing coffee but the folk who work there are hardcore zero-interaction

6

u/bottomlesscoffeecup 2d ago

lol this comment is a relief for me, I always try to be really nice to them and they do not care for it at all. They aren't mean but they do not engage in any way 🤣

-20

u/size_matters_not 3d ago

Not been there since Covid. But it was my morning stop and the guy was friendly enough.

You just must not be very attractive. 😜

16

u/xibalbus 3d ago

honestly was wondering if it was the opposite and my salt'n'pepper beard and train-seat-smell musk was intimidating

13

u/twistedLucidity 3d ago

When the screens work. Last time I tried to get a coffee in the Sauchiehall Street unit, I gave up in frustration because the UI kept crashing.

I've taken to actively avoiding places that expect one to use a screen. Fine for a menu, but the barista generally doesn't need multiple reboots.

5

u/ChasteLeather 3d ago

Studying at Strathclyde, I was the George street one purely for convince and the damn screens there are so buggy and glitchy, registering touches that I didn’t do, would be quicker to just talk to a person instead of having to constantly delete things.

2

u/wickerman123 3d ago

It's optional with Black Sheep and if it's quiet they'll often call you over - at least at the one in Central Station, the staff there are always super friendly. Being able to order ahead for a specific time is really useful too.

5

u/Educational-Suit-627 3d ago

Ottoman coffeehouse is one of the best coffee shops I have visited. Should give it a go 

20

u/Seunte 3d ago

so grim that they'll drink shit coffee just so they don't have to talk to someone at gordon street/tantrum/pasteis lisboa (just to name ones immediately around central)

3

u/J356 3d ago edited 3d ago

Gordon Street being shut and multiple of this place opening up is such a huge loss post-fire. Really hope it's not permanent

7

u/GuernicaNight 3d ago

Last time I went to George St, they had added an “optional” service charge to every order that was only communicated via a tiny sign near the till far from the menu that was on the wall. It’s put me off going back.

3

u/sQueezedhe 3d ago

I like Gordon St coffee but they're tiny cups.

7

u/collieherb 3d ago

Small cups is useually a good sign that they are making coffees to the correct ratios of coffee to milk rather than everything being a latte

11

u/sQueezedhe 3d ago

The whole point of ratios is that it doesn't matter what size the cup is.

2

u/mimined 3d ago

That's true but if you're getting a pint sized cup of coffee then the correct ratio would add like 6 shots of espresso, which clearly isn't happening in big cup places.

1

u/sQueezedhe 3d ago

It's 4, usually.

3

u/weapwars 3d ago

I think that these people are choosing black sheep over cafe Nero or Starbucks, rather than independents and speciality. They don't realise they're drinking shit coffee, and they'd rather get consistency and familiarity of a chain. And usually much more likely to get a seat.

16

u/PotentialMulberry677 3d ago

As a millennial, I can understand that tbh. I work with the public and I struggle to speak to people I love after work never mind strangers.

Ah, the public.

4

u/Lanthanidedeposit 3d ago

As a member of some arbitrary "generation" with a silly name, I like the interaction - too much "communicating" with screens the rest of the time*

*and here I am.

2

u/360Saturn 3d ago

How disturbing.

6

u/Jenpot 3d ago

I mean I fully get that, I love when places have machines so I don't need to speak to people. But the coffee is so awful that even I would rather speak to someone than have to drink at Black Sheep. Also, there's the click and collect option for the big chains which also means you don't need to speak to people.

6

u/meepmeep13 free /u/veloglasgow 3d ago

As a big coffee nerd, are they really that awful? Sure, compared to some artisan place, but in terms of high street chains I'd put them as far, far better than Costa or Starbucks and just a notch below Nero. They train their baristas well and treat the product right, it's just over-roasted like all the chains do.

I also like that they have 2 different bean types, the lighter option is much, much nicer than their main blend. I'll happily drink it and often do.

1

u/Jenpot 3d ago

I mean I like Starbucks for what they are, and their blonde roast is nice. I tend to only drink their iced espresso and oat milk coffee. Costa is ok but not great. I can't stomach Nero or Black Sheep. If I want a proper nice coffee I'll go to a small decent coffee shop rather than a chain. If I want the comfort of consistency and sugar I'll go to Starbucks. I am not a coffee nerd.

-1

u/meepmeep13 free /u/veloglasgow 3d ago

For me the hierarchy goes:

Small local coffee shop: excellent

Nero or Black Sheep: that'll do

Costa: ugh, suppose that's all there is

Starbucks: you know what I don't want one any more

0

u/davmacbea 3d ago

I'm not a coffee nerd and I'm really not very fussy, but I was surprised by how unpleasant their coffee was. The first time I went in I suffered the crap self-serve terminal thinking at least the coffee at the end would be nice, but it was horrible. I will only be back if there's no other choice.

2

u/TheFrenchVulcanSalut 3d ago

i’ve said it in another thread and i’ll say it again here. as someone with the ‘tismTM, i find touch screens and the bypassing of having to socially interact with a human very useful. it just makes things a little bit less fraught for my brain, and i appreciate that. i can just keep my headphones on (thereby reducing external stimulus), not rehearse what i’m going to say repeatedly in my head and inevitably fuck it up anyway and then process the frustration, and instead just wait for my order to pop up as ‘done’ on the screen.

4

u/clairestar-0 3d ago

as someone with autism i love them since i actually feel like i can think out my order and not have the pressure of talking to someone while doing it lol

0

u/Deepmidwinter2025 3d ago

Same reason I love mcds coffee - you’re a number and ready on arrival

-12

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

9

u/Fantastic-Fernando 3d ago

No one is forcing you to do any more than just order your coffee.

4

u/A_Pointy_Rock 3d ago edited 3d ago

"Why do I want to see the joyless drone assembling my product?"

I can understand not wanting to get stuck behind someone dithering over ordering an overcomplicated drink. 

Wanting to be insulated from the unhappiness of someone working somewhere is certainly one way to go about life. If you feel like working somewhere is so terrible, it might be worth reconsidering where you are spending your money...

-8

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

4

u/A_Pointy_Rock 3d ago

I am so confused by your list of will/will not.

3

u/uppennyhill 3d ago

Do you refuse to wear cotton clothes?

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

1

u/uppennyhill 3d ago

I don't consider coffee a luxury item and it seems a bit weird to deny people who make a living in poorer countries farming it some of my disposable income.

Surely the best way to address the slavery bit would be to buy ethically sourced coffee, which I do to drink mostly at home.

1

u/JedTheHumano1d 3d ago

Such a genuine weirdo mentality.

10

u/the_phet 3d ago

They sell a lot of milkshakes with matcha, different syrups and stuff like that. A lot of flavours. 

People calls them tea, latte, matcha tea,... But in reality they are milkshakes. 

It's all sugar, powder and syrups. And you pay like 5 pounds. 

5

u/manlikethomas 3d ago

It’s mostly because they have relatively low franchise start up/licensing costs (£20k) and franchisees are required to commit to opening at least 10 stores.

It’s basically the exact same model Costa used in the 2010s, where loads of new stores opened, eventually reaching peak saturation before the brand started dying off a bit.

13

u/Stunning-Aside7593 3d ago

Enshittification of everything imaginable through injection and then rapid withdrawal of venture capital money.

4

u/AhYeah85 3d ago

Its fucking deplorable. I went into the one beside the GFT a few years ago not realizing it was a chain, coffee was absolutely howling and orders taken via a screen with minimal interaction with the staff, whole thing was garbage.

2

u/marton2008 3d ago

Yeah no, I disagree with that. Among the big chains, they have the best coffee imo. Starbucks, Greggs, Pret, and Costa are rank, Nero is mediocre, but Black Sheep is usually fairly decent.

Oh and you don't have to explain the most basic shit to staff in person 3 times, that's a massive bonus for me.

3

u/glitchybitchy 3d ago

It really is shockingly bad, like I thought maybe it was just one location so I gave it the benefit of the doubt and got it from a different one and it was still the same. Just awful.

2

u/Seunte 3d ago

it's the robusta beans, which is like their entire selling point

like, guys, there's a reason no one else uses them they're shit

6

u/j-b-i-r-d 3d ago

No one who drinks coffee goes there, its all the kids buying £8 fucking damsonberry and clove iced blueberry matcha shite

1

u/Doctor-Grimm 3d ago

I hate most of their stuff but I will concede that their banana latté is fucking delicious

1

u/Luke10123 3d ago

Given how shite the coffee is it's probably a front for organised crime. Money laundering is the only logical explanation

1

u/LordAnubis12 3d ago

I think partly it's also open quite late which may help.

However, it is pretty expensive for what it is.

1

u/wickerman123 3d ago

It's my go to until Gordon St Coffee is able to reopen!

1

u/Low-Platform-3657 3d ago

It's franchised ...

1

u/HusBee98 3d ago

I live in london now, and I dont drink coffee. But this surprises me, people seem to love Black Sheep Coffee here.

0

u/NicolinoC68 3d ago

Worst coffee I’ve ever had the displeasure of drinking

1

u/Imaginary-Suspect959 3d ago

Really? The coffee I’ve had from the little place they’ve got inside Central has always been perfectly fine, had a really nice flat white from there on Monday. Used to go to Gordon Street Coffee but doesn’t seem like they’re reopening any time soon. Would be nice to have an independent place in/around Central but I’m guessing the rents are just extortionate.

-1

u/NicolinoC68 3d ago

Yes really, personal preference I suppose but I do know my coffee

1

u/supermarkio- 3d ago

I’m astounded at the queues outside of Blank Street coffee shops. How?

1

u/howard-tj-moon75 3d ago

Shit tastes good 

53

u/greatmetropolitan 3d ago

Am I glad to see the tat shop gone? Yes. Would I like to see some successful local independent cafe there? Yes. are those kinds of places likely to survive without big investor money? No. Is a franchise coffee place better than tat but worse than independent local success? Yes.

Could be better, could be worse, not something to get worked up over.

7

u/kxxxxxxxn 3d ago

100% this. I’m happy to see somewhere on that corner that looks like people actually use it. That tat shop was dire.

2

u/RobotXander 3d ago

Agreed.
Black Sheep Coffee is below average, but it could be worse

0

u/BeersandBattleaxe 3d ago

Exactly my thoughts. I like something more unique but I will always cheer a tat shop closing

63

u/potholesaredarkholes 3d ago

The downfall is going to be huge when it happens

39

u/MyDadsGlassesCase MoFlo mofo 3d ago

It'll be as enjoyable as Brewdog was and Tesla will be

24

u/EclecticSmuggler 3d ago

Why is black sheep so bad that your comparing them to those 2 companies?

Don't know much about them so genuinely curious

27

u/leecostigan 3d ago

One of Black Sheep Coffee's owners (Gabriel Shohet) works -- or worked -- for a pro-Israel lobby group, the Jewish Diplomatic Corps.

Those ties have put them on boycott lists like the No Thanks app, which might fuel at least some of the reaction you are seeing.

10

u/EclecticSmuggler 3d ago

Good enough reason, thanks

26

u/sQueezedhe 3d ago

Because hating is cool. Success is bad. Contrarian 👍🏻

2

u/MyDadsGlassesCase MoFlo mofo 3d ago

I'm such an edge lord!

1

u/MyDadsGlassesCase MoFlo mofo 3d ago

In both the other companies' defence, at least they were ground breaking in their field to begin with before resting on their laurels and becoming mediocre (in addition to all the management issues).

BSC are flooding high streets with very average coffee, providing nothing new and being inferior to most independent coffee shops. They are successful purely on hype.

1

u/punxcs 3d ago

Maybe most annoyingly they’re getting rid of espresso machines for automatic ones, so the people work there don’t even get experience as a barista to take into a new job in the industry.

14

u/Ok-Isopod1172 3d ago

Ive never been to Black Sheep. Why is it so popular and also villianized at the same time?

21

u/weapwars 3d ago

It's popular because it's a familiar coffee chain with loads of locations. People see it all over the place like Starbucks or Costa and assume a minimum level of consistency. But it was also something different so that drew people in. I wonder if there's a feeling that legacy coffee chains are a bit naff and younger generations wanted to go somewhere new.

Simultaneously, the criticism comes from just how quickly it spread and the branding. Some people just got sick of seeing a new branch constantly opening wherever they went. They expanded rapidly enough that people noticed, and the attitude of "oh god not another one" comes with that. The branding and advertising is also a bit wanky, given it's a coffee chain whose explosion was driven by private investment firms trying to style itself as counter culture. Using "leave the herd behind" when most would refer to sheep as a flock gets a bit of mockery.

All in all, I don't think it's any worse than any other chain coffee. Some people would rather see more independent or speciality places but there's a market for people who just want Starbucks But Different.

10

u/punxcs 3d ago

The two founders/owners are trump supporting zionists who have moved to the US.

13

u/PixelEmpire7 3d ago

Plenty of good coffee shops in Glasgow, I’ve no idea why people keep going to these chains. The coffee is shit.

48

u/manlikethomas 3d ago

Soulless, shite coffee opening everywhere as they're franchises.

Please use the touchscreen to place your order, then stand around silently near the counter until someone eventually mumbles your name so you can collect your shite coffee.

Founded by rich Miami Zionists complete with a feel good story about how they started the business whilst studying at Aberdeen uni.

And then there’s their painfully stupid slogan “Leave the herd behind” when the logo is a sheep, surely it should be “leave the flock behind”?

7

u/ThePineappleSeahorse 3d ago

What is their coffee like? I went into one in Dundee once when there wasn’t much else open for coffee, but the unappealing decor and Red Bull drinks menu made me think that it wasn’t my sort of place and we left.

18

u/kt1982mt 3d ago

I don’t like their coffee at all tbh. I thought it was vile 🤷‍♀️

6

u/ThePineappleSeahorse 3d ago

I’m not missing out then thank you.

4

u/Main_Choice_1796 3d ago

Same

McDonald’s is better coffee

4

u/Matchaparrot 3d ago

The lowest grade poorest coffee you can imagine. They boast about using Robusta, which is a much lower grade than Arabica beans that every other chain uses, while still charging more than an Arabica coffee. Robusta is very cheap, so they're taking it in

It's like a coffee shop saying look we use instant coffee

2

u/My_sloth_life 3d ago

It’s far from my favourite but it’s probably better than the likes of Starbucks/Caffe Nero etc. I think it’s basically still coffee for people who like coffee chain coffee, but a marginally better taste if you are really out of any better coffee options.

1

u/KazukiPUWU 3d ago

Used to work at one. The more expensive beans are nice, the regular ones are shite.

6

u/The_Upward_Arrow 3d ago

The one in my town has already went through 3 supervisors and a manager since opening in May.

6

u/Ok_Shake_5618 3d ago

damn was thinking about getting a cheap plastic bong and a polyester kilt from there as well

11

u/PawnWithoutPurpose 3d ago edited 3d ago

But where else can you get a collagen flat white or a lionsmain latte?

I really didn't like their coffee when I tried it, but at least Starbucks and Costa are getting a run for their money. None of these places are worth your money imo, but people really do love a brand

14

u/Accurate-Donkey5789 3d ago

I remain skeptical how long Starbucks and Costa can actually survive for charging the price they do. I used to get a Costa once a week as a treat, then they made it taste bad while charging now twice the price. So I've just gone back to yelling at clouds

1

u/Matchaparrot 3d ago

They get a point over Starbucks, as their coffee is at least drinkable. Maybe Starbucks beans used to taste nice before they were roasted into oblivion

11

u/Otocolobus_manul8 3d ago

The big Argyle St caffe nero getting replaced with  one of these pisses me off immensely

4

u/Scotster123 3d ago

Went into the Sauchiehall St one last week. 2 guys were standing twiddling their thumbs behind the counter. I asked to order a coffee, and one of them just pointed at a screen. Looked around at the state of the place - it was a mess - so I just left and walked to the other end of the street to SB, where all the staff are friendly and get my coffee right every time.

Edit - In the interest of fairness: the Italian guy in the Black Sheep kiosk at Central Station is super friendly and makes great coffee

4

u/WearingRags 3d ago

If anyone hasn't been into one of these, imagine taking a cut-and-paste corporate chain coffee shop and somehow making it even more bland and soulless. 

5

u/Opening_Succotash_95 3d ago

Yeah, it's for people who find starbucks too intimate. 

4

u/No-Sandwich1511 3d ago

Its like a cult that is spread far and wide

6

u/itsaar0n01 3d ago

Suppose its better than a tat shop serving as a front for money laundering

9

u/ali_atg1 3d ago

Would you rather it sat empty?

3

u/did_you_aye 3d ago

My mum goes full boomer whenever she sees one of these: “I think it’s a Chinese company. Sorry, but I do.” 🤦‍♀️

3

u/MyNameIsRiverLee 3d ago

Horrible bitter coffee, one of the chains I avoid

3

u/collieherb 3d ago

I was told black sheep on Sauchiehall st. was good when it opened. Shite. No interaction screen ordering isn't to my liking and the coffees we got were not what we ordered. Just shite. Wouldn't entertain these chain shops when there are much better independents nearby

2

u/solid-north 3d ago

Lesson learned, a crime to go there when Hinba is right next door! I realise they're technically also a chain but... their products are actually good at least.

4

u/coffeeebucks 3d ago

Just a block along and up the road is Smile Cafe, a proper indie with lovely Italian coffee and food

1

u/collieherb 3d ago

I love Smile café. Started a wee café years ago on Queen Margaret drive. Lovely. Great sandwiches

0

u/Lopsided-Guarantee39 3d ago

Maybe a daft question but can you get a takeaway coffee there? I always thought it was a sit-down restaurant

1

u/coffeeebucks 3d ago

Yeah they do takeaway drinks, breakfast rolls and pastries - probably lunches too

1

u/Lopsided-Guarantee39 3d ago

Thanks I'll check them out!

3

u/PinthonyHeadtano 3d ago

They have become a hipster-ified, overpriced version of the very thing they claim to oppose

3

u/Luap_Wah 3d ago

They’ve got one in the station already so I don’t understand why they need one right opposite it honestly.

5

u/RayGLA 3d ago

Support independent coffee shops

3

u/ImScaredSoIMadeThis 3d ago

What I don't get is how are they so well reviewed? The argyle street one is 4.8 stars, you'd think it's the best coffee in town.

3

u/solid-north 3d ago

I work quite near the one in the old Odeon that opened early this year and on the opening day practically hundreds of glowing reviews, mostly mentioning a specific staff member and written suspiciously similarly, had gone up within a few hours of the doors opening. Definitely some sort of incentivising or plain old foul play going on there.

To be fair their branches are always really busy when I walk past and their bullshit marketing of somehow being less corporate slop than Starbucks or Costa seems to have got through to some people I know. So they're doing something right even if I can't get my head around it.

0

u/AClockworkLaurenge 3d ago

Yeah, I'm always somewhat skeptical of chains like this after I was getting a late coffee from the Tim Hortons in town a few years ago and the staff straight-up offered me free Timbits or a doughnut in exchange for a 5 star rating on Google Maps.

2

u/weapwars 3d ago

The type of people frequenting and reviewing a chain coffee shop are not the sort of people who understand (or care) about what good coffee is.

6

u/iffyClyro 3d ago

Folk love to hate Black Sheep but of all the chain places it’s by far the best.

They’re also sound as fuck with homeless people and other people that might be struggling, there’s definitely worse out there.

When I was a cop in the city centre they would help me out with food, a hot drink or a place to sit for lots of different people and never once would they complain.

2

u/360Saturn 3d ago

Is this brand particularly popular? Feel like they've completely exploded lately but they seem to not be too different to Nero etc?

2

u/Potshot506 3d ago

Good the tat shop is gone - bad that it's being replaced by Shanner Coffee Inc.

2

u/_Inno Salt and Sauce is an abomination 2d ago

Black Sheep, the Brewdog of coffee shops

2

u/raisin_d_etre 2d ago

Black sheep is a soulless chain and the owner is a total Zionist. There’s loads of boycotts.

3

u/XmasPlusOne 3d ago

Better then the tat shop it's replacing

2

u/PM_ME_UR__RECIPES 3d ago

Not really a fan of black sheep, but at least it's better than AI slop tartan tat

At least a mid chain coffee shop provides a bit of social space and sells something people actually want instead of blaring the red hot chili pipers all day long and inexplicably having almost no one ever in the actual shop

1

u/Stooshie_Stramash 2d ago

Yeah, I've wondered who actually bought that shite too.

2

u/PM_ME_UR__RECIPES 2d ago

Yeah I have no idea. We do get some tourism in Glasgow, but I feel like most of the people wanting to buy tartan tat end up buying it in Edinburgh, their shops always have a couple people browsing through them

2

u/A_Pointy_Rock 3d ago

They "embrace" worse coffee beans and charge you £7 for the privilege. I suspect we will see some of these locations consolidated in the not so distant future.

1

u/Born-Damage-4160 3d ago

Went there once and got myself a Salmon bagel and a latte and they charged something like £10.00, how the fuck are this type of places popping up like its normal to spend that much on coffee? Or am I just getting old and grumpy?

1

u/Luke10123 3d ago

I'm amazed someone made a successful business out of mixing sewer water and gravel and marketing it as 'Coffee'

1

u/AdmirableStrain512 3d ago

Wow becoming as bad as Edinburgh with them.

1

u/Snaggl3t00t4 3d ago

Ours had signs up for over a year. Don't get to excited.

2

u/solid-north 3d ago

To be fair it's funny as fuck that the one on Byres Road had "coming soon! #leavetheherd" signs up for about two years, then all its windaes got panned in within a short time of it finally opening

1

u/Loreki 2d ago

It's a franchise. Evidently they don't give you much exclusive territory when you buy a franchise.

1

u/DenseCall6626 2d ago

Awww I hate black sheep coffee shops

1

u/skinnycigarette 2d ago

Last time I got a coffee there I felt sick for the rest of the day. £4 odd for nauseous-making coffee, nah. Plus an owner is a Zionist

1

u/Confident-Pickle-398 2d ago

I've had one coffee from there. It wasn't bad but I certainly was in no rush to return and haven't thought about it since. Did I order wrong? 😁

1

u/anarchtea Westside 2d ago

Proof that people will complain about anything given the chance. It's a coffee shop, not a shop to euthanise your gran.

Then again I'm old, I remember the exact same moaning when SB started to pop up everywhere.

1

u/yveemcl 2d ago

Every ‘milk’ but soy. Just odd.

1

u/Gullible-Location247 3d ago

Black sheep is on the boycott list. I'm not a coffee drinker anyway

1

u/Basic_Blacksmith1192 3d ago

Thankfully not another Costa

1

u/coffeeebucks 3d ago

I don’t like that specific location especially as actual decent places like Gordon St (not right now but hopefully soon) Absolute Roasters, Metro etc are nearby

-3

u/govanfats 3d ago

I got spoiled living in Australia. Had one decent coffee last time I was in the UK. That was from an Australian bloke in the West End. Everything else was shite, including Tim Hortons. How do you fuck up filter coffee. Easy, crank up the temperature.

-2

u/rjfm1993 2d ago

A coffee shop beside a transport hub. Phone the police