Dufftown regeneration company Truerlein marks first major milestone with opening of The Lunchbox
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A DUFFTOWN community regeneration company opened its first business this week as part of its vision to position the town as the "beating heart of Speyside".
The Lunchbox sandwich deli has reopened on Fife Street with a new look, new menu and new team – and is the first business to put Truerlein’s socio-economic regeneration model into practice.
Back in February, Truerlein unveiled its ambitious six-year "Dufftown: a New Dawn" project, which aims to help open new shops and hospitality venues.
As well as this it hopes to build sustainable and affordable housing, help develop enterprise, protect Dufftown's heritage and ecology, and promote the town as a tourism and business hub.
A key part of the team's plan is to offer local entrepreneurs a leg-up to run their own business.
The project reached its first milestone on Thursday, May 20, when The Lunchbox reopened under its new management after lockdown closure, headed by supervisor Caroline Adamson and employing three part-time staff.
It has reopened under the same name but is effectively a fresh start for the business. The shop rebrand includes a revamp of its interior as well as new food offerings. Caroline helped develop the new menu, which includes her speciality whisky tea loaf.
The Lunchbox has also partnered with Dufftown-based Lettoch Farm Coffee Company to offer customers a bespoke blend of coffee.
Mhairi-ann Gallicker, director at Truerlein, said: "We’re delighted to open the first of a number of complementary businesses, designed to offer members of the community and visitors more amenities in Dufftown.
"With Caroline and the rest of our fantastic team’s help, we’re looking forward to offering a range of options to suit all tastes, whether you need to grab a coffee and breakfast on your drive to work, cater a group lunch or grab something sweet for your afternoon tea.
"We have some of the finest ingredients and suppliers practically on our doorstep so it makes perfect sense to support other local businesses and showcase their products to our customers. Many people have strong feelings about their coffee so we wanted to ensure that The Lunchbox had something special and unique to Dufftown that would keep them coming back."
Truerlein has plans to launch more businesses in Dufftown in the coming months.
A core part of its business model is to create thriving businesses that give local entrepreneurs a low-risk path to owning their own business. The Lunchbox is the first to follow this model.
As the business becomes established as strong and profitable, Truerlein will gift ownership of shares in the business over the years until 49 per cent of the business is owned by the senior management. At a mutually agreed time, they will then be offered the opportunity to buy the remaining 51 per cent and take their business forward independently.
The Lunchbox will open from 6.30am Monday to Friday and from 7am on Saturdays. Over the coming weeks, it plans to add a pre-ordering facility to its Facebook page and website.
