A POPULAR Ayrshire coffee shop is set to create around 60 new jobs as it expands in the region.

GRO Coffee has proved to be a massive hit with customers since it opened in Irvine and now owner Gordon Rennie is on the hunt for new recruits as he aims to take the business to the next level in Ayr.

It is hoped the new site will open in mid-May with plans for a third site near Glasgow also underway.

Gordon said: “We have got a new site in Ayr which we are hoping to open in mid-May and parallel to that process we are looking for a new site for a brand new bakery and production facility and small head office. We are also looking for a third site that is closer to Glasgow which is the long-term plan.

“The next 12 months is really about putting in the building blocks to create a solid foundation to take the company forward.

“We employ around 40 staff in Irvine so some of them will go to Ayr plus the extra we are looking at recruiting means there will be about 60 jobs in total taking us forward and seeing where we go with future sites so we are looking forward to it.”

“Irvine itself attracts a huge amount of visitors. We estimate at least 50 per cent of our customers pre-pandemic were from the Glasgow area and we hope with the expansion that it does boost the economy in Ayr like in Irvine.”

They aim to recruit staff for a range of roles from front of house to bakers and chefs.

Gordon said: “We try and cover everything and have small departments so we are looking for bakers, chefs at all different levels, front of house, supervisors and just people who want to be part of a team to take us forward for the future.

“It’s a great company to work for, we don’t have uniforms, you get dogs coming in, there is unlimited coffee, you get to eat cake so it is quite a different environment to most places of work and we want to make sure it is a friendly environment for our staff.”

While GRO pushes ahead with its expansion plans Gordon admits it has not been plain sailing for the business during the past 12 months with the pandemic.

He said: “We have worked extremely hard to keep our staff and the public safe over the past 12 months.

“It’s been difficult with circumstances changing almost on a daily basis and with what times you were allowed to open that would change our busy periods and then we would have to rotate staff and adapt.

“We have managed to navigate through it and are looking forward to a busy summer.”

To apply email grojobs@outlook.com with your CV.