Family has kept city centre bar relevant as it marks its 30th anniversary

Vroni’s, the Glasgow wine bar that has just marked its 30th anniversary, wasn’t a success overnight. 

In fact, there were times in the early days of the bar, which opened in June 1995, when owner Alan Tomkins worried it might not survive. 

While the early months of any business can be nervewracking, Vroni’s wasn’t helped by the long, hot summer of 1995. 

“The first year was torturous. I didn’t know if we’d make it.”

Although glorious sunshine can obviously be a publican’s best friend, that very much depends on the unit. 

And so while operators with sizeable outdoor areas were no doubt reaping the rewards Tomkins, in his new city centre venture, was not. 

“The vision, and it’s still the ethos today, was to sell good quality wine, sell a good choice of wine, get the basics right, get the right people working, and you expect if you’ve got a reasonable location that people will start coming and frequenting you,” he told SLTN during a visit to Vroni’s last month. 

“I sat in here for a year. I thought I was going to be able to turn this business quite quickly, but when we opened in June 1995 it was a very long, hot summer, and city centres don’t generally do well when it’s really mega-hot. It’s beer gardens, golf clubs, barbecues that are the winners. The first year was actually quite torturous. I didn’t know whether we were going to make it.”

After months of uncertainty there came what Tomkins described as ‘one magical weekend’ early in 1996, where the venue began to get busy, and he hasn’t looked back since. 

Vroni’s was far from Tomkins’ first foray into hospitality – or into wine bars. 

He entered the trade in 1982 with the opening of another wine bar, Lautrec’s, on Woodlands Terrace, before buying the Beacons Hotel on nearby Park Terrace. 

A Bath Street restaurant called Papingo followed, before the lease for the Vroni’s unit became available. 

Although it was operating most recently as a more general pub, the site had previously traded as a wine bar, and Tomkins was confident it could work with a renewed focus on quality wines. 

The name of the venue was inspired by an Austrian bar the family had frequented during a recent skiing holiday. 

“Wine was developing as a range, but there weren’t that many people serious about it, with a list of a hundred wines,” he recalled. 

“I think most bars probably had a wine list with a dozen wines on it (at most).”

Having known Alexander Wines founder Fraser Alexander since school, Alan worked with the specialist supplier on the early Vroni’s wine list, although these days the company works closer with the team at Inverarity Morton. 

“Recently people are so much more interested in wine.”

“The market tells you what you need to have, but you also want to be introducing new ideas to (your customers),” said Alan.

“I think wine’s an amazing thing now, because people are so much more adventurous. 

“I think the public are very up on it now.”

Daughter Emma MacSween very much agrees. 

Having joined Vroni’s in 2012, Emma has seen tastes change considerably as the level of wine knowledge in the city has increased. 

“Recently people are so much more interested in wine,” she said. 

“When I first started in here, and hospitality in general, people would follow the trends, whatever that was – so we went through a big New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc trend, the prosecco bubble came up. It was almost like buzz words. And now they definitely take more time to deliberate what they are going to drink.”

Alan agreed, saying that customers, in the early days of Vroni’s, seemed more nervous about venturing outside of their comfort zones. 

“If you introduced a grape they hadn’t heard of, which would probably have been more than appealing to them if they went for it – you’d get ‘no I think I’ll just stick with my Pinot Grigio, thanks’.

“But I think they’re much more adventurous now.”

It wasn’t just tastes in wine that were changing, however. 

Tomkins credited his daughter with helping to tweak the drinks range at Vroni’s – a move that helped the bar to extend its reach. 

“Emma came in very young and came in with a different outlook on the place,”  he explained. 

“For example, we had never been interested in doing cocktails, because we were a wine bar with some premium spirits and a good selection of beer. 

“She introduced the cocktail side to it, and it made a big difference. 

“It doesn’t take the image of the place in a different direction, but it made it more available to other people. ‘I don’t mind being in a wine bar if I can get my Margarita’.”

“The staff of today are much more keen to be trained.”

Technology has also had a part to play, with wine preservation systems allowing the venue to sell far more bottles by the glass – in turn making it easier for customers to try new varieties. 

And the customers haven’t been the only ones building their wine knowledge through the years. 

“The staff of today against yesteryear are much more keen to be trained and get into their product knowledge. And so that becomes the natural conduit to the customer, and they’re getting the information about the product – and good information, because the staff are dedicated to it.”

In addition to supplier training sessions, several team members have also undergone WSET courses. 

There’s also no shortage of wine knowledge among the owners. 

As well as Alan and Emma, Emma’s husband, Andy MacSween, is also part of the senior team and the company’s head sommelier.  

In addition to Vroni’s, the family also operates Glasgow venues Malo, Ralph & Finns and Zibibbo.

Choosing the right suppliers is, of course, hugely important, and Alan was keen to heap praise on longstanding partner Inverarity Morton. 

“We have great loyalty to Inverarity Morton,” he said. 

“My loyalty goes back 43 years now, because they were the supplier in my first business in 1982. I’m a big fan of Inverarity Morton. And, of course, they have since become a lot more focused on wine. We can speak to them and they can find things for us.

“We’ve got connections with a lot of wine companies, but I’d like to put a plug in for Inverarity Morton.”

And while the venue is most definitely wet-led, there are cheese platters available, provided by specialist supplier Harvey & Brockless. 

As to what’s kept the venue successful over the past three decades, Alan credits a slow and steady growth – as well as the bar’s loyal customer base. 

“It’s been a business which has grown at a very nice pace. It’s not been a great peak coming into a trough. It’s just been very steady,” he said.  

“And I think at the end of the day – as well as hoping that we’re doing the right things through product and trained staff – if you get a hard core of customers who like the place, they’re the basis of your business. 

“We should never forget that everybody who comes here in a loyal way – whether it’s once a day, once a week, once every three months – is of value to the business.”

Emma agreed, stating: “There’s something really special in here. 

“I know everyone would say that about their own pubs, but the regular customers, you get to know them so well. Some of the people I’ve worked with behind the bar have become friends for life. 

“There’s a really great vibe.”