Helping to reduce homelessness in Scotland through social catering businesses - with Layla Gassabi and Josh Littlejohn
In this episode our guests are Layla Gassabi & Josh Littlejohn.
Layla is co-owner and director of the Maison Bleue Restaurant group, in Edinburgh. Josh co-founded the Social Bite group of sandwich shops, which are found in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Social Bite also runs two staff canteens in Edinburgh and a corporate catering businesses. Social Bite is a social business, which donates all its profits to charity and exists to tackle homelessness in Scotland.
Social Bite and Maison Bleue have joined forces to create Social Bite Restaurants and bring the Social Bite ethos into a restaurant environment. In this episode we discuss how the partnership was formed, what exactly the mission is and how they have built a sustainable social business in the catering sector. There is loads of practical advice about how the business works, the lessons they have learnt and how operating in cafes and restaurants presents different challenges. There is also a huge amount of inspiration and a strong message that it is possible to make a real difference in the world when the purpose of business is not only maximising profit.
Find out more about their great work here: