The Heriot’s Blues Women sponsor successfully opened the café at 49 Barclay Place near Bruntsfield Links in December 2020.

The success for Modern Standard Coffee has extended to CEO Lynsey Harley and her staff being baristas to Scotland rugby players preparing for the Six Nations.

‘‘We’ve definitely hit a sweet spot as I had the fear that only my Mum and Dad would come in for coffee, but since we’ve opened the doors it’s been incredible,’’ Lynsey said.

‘‘Lots of rugby people too, and as a result of serving consistently great coffee, we were invited to make coffee for the Scotland Men’s Six Nations team, which we were quite excited about.’’

Lynsey felt both relieved and excited that locals have embraced the café and credits word of mouth for helping attract new customers.

‘‘When Nicola Sturgeon announced takeaway only after Christmas, we did that, and our sales increased. Then doorway serving only was announced, with no customers allowed in the shop. Again, we did that and our sales increased again.’’

Lynsey praised her ‘incredible’ staff for working hard to make the Modern Standard Coffee café a success during a difficult time.

‘‘I couldn’t have done it better myself and it’s great to have people on your team who support you that way,’’ she said.

‘‘As a business owner, you need to be agile and flexible, and thankfully I’m good at thinking outside the box and being positive too.’’

Focusing on the small details of the café, including window seats, brass ‘Push for Coffee’ door plates, dried seasonal flowers and an outdoor bike pump, have been key to the positive response from customers, Lynsey believes.

‘‘I think my favourite feature of the cafe is the dog treats we give our furry customers. They now know that we have nice dog treats, and many dogs now sit outside our shop and the owners buy a coffee!’’ she said.

‘‘We have window awnings and outside benches arriving soon, so that’ll be great for people who want to cycle up and sit outside and enjoy a well-deserved coffee.’’