Artisan baker and café chain Patisserie Valerie has opened a new branch in Glasgow.

The London-based firm launched one of two new eateries at Glasgow Central rail station on the week beginning 22 July. The second is due to open on West Nile Street this summer.

Formerly the home of Franco’s, the outlet has 38 covers, and currently employees nine full- and part-time staff. The café on West Nile Street will seat 80 and employ 30 staff. A third outlet opened at 25 George IV Bridge at the end of May.

A spokesperson for Patisserie Valerie, Vikki O’Neill, said that the new café had been well received by commuters. “It has been incredible. When we opened we offered free samples of cakes and people were going crazy and tweeting about what was happening.”

O’Neill commended Network Rail for their support with the opening, praising their use of social media to engage with customers. Despite the recent warmer weather, the Glasgow outlet has experienced good sales, particularly of their ice-cream, smoothies and iced-coffee products.

Speaking to STV news in June this year, Paul May, chief executive officer at Patisserie Valerie explained that after opening two sites in Edinburgh, Glasgow was the next step.

“I’ve been trying to find a site in the city for over 12 months,” he said. “Glasgow has been at the top of our list for some time and it’s just the way things have worked out that we’ll be opening two here this year.

“We’ve got a good relationship with Network Rail now as we’ve nine sites with them across the country, so we took up this opportunity to open in Central Station and in the meantime have been negotiating for a high street location.”

The first Patisserie Valerie opened in Soho in 1926, and quickly became known for its cakes and pastries.

There are currently 107 branches operating across the UK, with a further 25 set to be fully functional by the end of the year.

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