I visited an incredible new food and drink venue that made me even more excited to live in Leith

The sound of drilling, hammering and sawing is echoing from the other shore - specifically from behind the barge, Mary of Guise, whose backdrop is the iconic white facade of George Brown & Sons Engineering Works, with its big blue door.

It’s strange to think that in only a few days, on November 27, this spot will be reopening as Brown’s of Leith - a food and drink destination that’s going to be the most exciting thing to happen in the area since I bagged the last cinnamon bun at The Pastry Section.

Until then, they’ve got a lot of installation to do, and quite a few pigeons to evict.

I’m getting a tour with GRAS architect and founder Gunnar Groves-Raines, who was responsible for establishing the multifunctional Custom Lane - a gallery, studio for artists, home for Williams & Johnson Coffee Co and interiors shop Bard, and events space - back in 2017.

He’s the sort of guy who makes things happen.

However, the acquisition of this property seemed a bit like fate, as he’d always appreciated the George Brown & Sons building, and was gutted when, after 130 years in that spot, it was recently sold to someone else.

Thankfully, that didn’t work out, and GRAS architects were waiting patiently in line.

I imagine it has probably been rescued from being knocked down - a fate that Edinburgh’s Brutalist Argyle House might soon be subject to - or turned into flats.

I’m very glad that it will now be preserved. After all, it’s a special spot - as Groves-Raines says, “Glasgow has lots of similar buildings, but there are hardly any in Edinburgh”.

Soon everyone will get to see beyond that big blue door, with the G on one side and B on the other. However, I’m getting a sneak preview.

First, we take a look round the ground floor. “This is the first part of the project, " says Groves-Raines.

As anticipated, it’s cavernous and warehouse-like. There is inglenook-esque seating lining the walls. At the back of the space, there’s a pristine pizza oven, which is presumably for Civerinos, who are taking up residency.

In fact, I spot the owner Michele Civiera, as well as Ewen Hutchison, the owner of Shrimpwreck, who will be operating a seafood bar. It’s currently all hands on deck here, as someone gets rather cavalier with a noisy nail gun, and the floor is thoroughly swabbed with suds.

The dining chairs are yet to arrive, and I can’t see any traditional designated areas. It’s rather more unique than that.

“They’ll all have shared dining space, so it’s something between a restaurant and a foodhall, though we have more space for them to expand into for production,” says Groves-Raines. “We want to bring people together to have that procreation and inspiration overlap, and that’s already happening”.

To the left of the entrance, there’s a huge stainless steel industrial-looking table and stools.

“We’ve taken the lead from the building, in terms of the metalwork,” says Groves-Raines.

This is going to be a spot for Haze - the small plates, coffee and wine outlet from the team behind Montrose and the Michelin-starred Timberyard. Groves-Raines has been chatting to those restaurants’ owners, the Radfords, for a while about potential collaboration.

“Jo and I are friends and had been talking together for years about doing something together. I’ve admired what they do for so long,” he says.

There’s also a bar at the back, which is made from peachy-coloured Hutton Stone that has been sourced from Darney Quarry. They’ve been used in other Scottish buildings, like The Usher Hall and St Andrew’s House and, Groves-Raines tells me, they’re an ecologically sound alternative to traditional fired bricks.

Across the ground-floor space, which is divided into two sections, one of which is more behind-the-scenes, there are also plans for a gelateria, bakery, furniture-making workshop, Woven Whisky’s headquarters, a Pyrus flower market and other general markets. It will be multiuse.

However, as far as the architecture goes, I think upstairs is the most exciting space.

To get there, you ascend a very industrial yellow-painted staircase, with a patina that suggests the sandpapery rub of thousands of calloused hands. It leads you to an ecclesiastical and meditative space, with huge windows.

It seems peaceful up here, which is strange, as this is the sort of building that’s been constantly absorbing clatters, shouts and bangs since it was built.

“We do have a sound artist we’re working with who has some ideas for a music programme. It’s more on the experimental and experiential side of things, as a reaction or a response to the building,” says Groves-Raines.

There’s a large aperture in the floor, where they’d winch up objects to repair, and thread them onto metal runners that zig-zag on the ceiling like a Scalextric track.

Apparently, there are three gantry cranes in the building, and they’re all still operational. They’re hoping to use this one to suspend a dining table into the space below, though they haven’t quite cracked it yet.

Apparently, there will be studio spaces up here, and an exhibition, gallery and events spaces.

The third floor also consists of a mezzanine area, which is on the long list for upgrading.

“Aspirationally, we’d love to connect to that, as it has views to the Castle that way and the harbour the other way,” says Groves-Raines.

The loose plan is for this self-funded project to gradually develop over the years.

“We’re trying to take it slowly, because we’re limited in terms of the funds we’ve raised and there’s also a responsibility not to overdo the building and to preserve its magic,” he says. “We want to be very careful and thoughtful, so that nothing special is lost in the process. There are lots of plans and aspirations, but we’ll start with downstairs and see how the conversations evolve”.

For more information, see Instagram @browns.leith or www.customlane.co

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