16 Stewart Street, Milngavie
CHARLIE’S LOFT
DESIGN FOCUS
BY JASON CADDY
H
ave you heard the one about the elephant that walks into a bar? Billy Milligan named Charlie’s Loft, his new place above Finsbay in Milngavie that debuted last month, in honour of one that attempted to get into a pub in the area many moons ago. “The chief attraction at Craigend Castle Zoo was Charlie the elephant, who lived in the stables block along with his keeper Singh Ibrahim. The pair were inseparable. “One day Ibrahim decided to go for a drink in one of Milngavie’s pubs on the High Street. As he walked towards the village, he was unaware that Charlie was following and he got stuck in the pub door. It took the local fire brigade to free him.” There are nods to Charlie everywhere – like carved wooden elephant heads on the beautiful gantry, neon ones, and elephant door handles and knockers. Billy has a passion for interior design and so was responsible for much of what you see, working very closely with interior designer Yvonne Wilson to come up with his new hybrid concept. “Yvonne was really helpful. We would bounce ideas off of one another and she was great and the two of us worked really well together, Yvonne having a wee bit more experience than me.” Billy won the Buzzworks Montpeliers Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year at the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards - a prize including mentorship from David Wither and Colin Blair.
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DRAM OCTOBER 2021
