The Horn Milk Bar ready for bacon roll rush ahead of Scottish Cup final
The Horn Milk Bar on the A90 has ordered 'double' stock to prepare for 20,000 Aberdeen fans heading to the Scottish Cup Final this Saturday.
Owner Kenny Farquharson, who is rooting for Aberdeen, says his team at the Errol diner, will be ready to fuel the hungry Dons as they make their way to Hampden Park in Glasgow.
'We know we are going to be mobbed on Saturday – there's no doubt about that,' says Kenny.
'We know fans will be looking for a hearty fill.
'We get our bacon in five kilo bags, and on Saturday we will probably going through double our usual.
'That's right across the board: from the rolls, to the bacon and black pudding as well.
'This will be a big deal on Saturday.'
Over the years, the roadside restaurant, which achieved the 'world's best' bacon buttie accolade in 2012, has become a regular haunt for Aberdeen fans on the road.
'Fans travelling down are usually looking for something like the bacon butties that can be turned around very quickly,' adds Kenny.
'And because of the experience we have in the team, we're set up to do that so we can get people through very, very quickly.'
Efficiency is key for Kenny, who likens his staff to a football team.
He says there will be a team of 10 working at The Horn on Saturday.
'We've been doing this for a long time,' he explains.
'I am into football big time, and I do coaching as well.
'I approach my businesses the same way I do my football.
'And I run the whole operation like a football club. I'm the captain in the kitchen.
'They're training all week, as it were, then there's the big game on Saturday.
'If we have to change tactics in the team – in other words, rearrange their positions – then we will do that to make things more efficient.'
Some businesses, says Kenny, ban buses packed with football fans. But he has never had a problem with overly rowdy fans.
'There might be a few inebriated gentlemen in the queue, but it's usually good-natured humour,' he says.
'On Saturday, I know for a fact there will be a mix of Celtic and Aberdeen supporters in there – and they have never given me a problem at all.'
Kenny is rooting for Aberdeen.
'The better Aberdeen are playing, the more it helps me. I don't want to see them playing badly,' he adds.
Kenny believes it's all down to their location.
'We're halfway between Aberdeen and Glasgow, halfway between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, halfway between Forfar and Kinross, and halfway between Perth and Dundee,' says Kenny.
'So we're the halfway house for all these places.
'If you're coming to Aberdeen, you're not going to stop after 15 minutes, you'll stop after an hour.
'Primarily, our target market is people coming from Aberdeen or the North because we're on that side of the road.
'Anything happening in Glasgow and Edinburgh has an impact on us.'
There is a lot of pride for Kenny when it comes to The Horn's continued success 65 years on.
Kenny's parents started the family business back in 1960.
Now, he runs the popular pitstop with the help of his three children, Gabriella, Ollie and Holly, who have worked in the café from a young age.
He says: 'I'm proud and honoured as a family business that have been around for so many years, that people still see us as the go-to place.
'I'm just glad we can still supply the fans and send them on their merry way.
'If we continue to get the custom, hopefully we are doing something right.
'But we don't rest on our laurels with that – we've got to maintain it.'
And it isn't just football that brings customers to The Horn in their hordes, says Kenny.
'Whether it's Hampden Park for the Scottish Cup Final on Saturday or a concert at Murrayfield, we know we will be busy for these days.
'We look at the staffing and the numbers. At the start of the year, I put all these dates into the diary to keep an eye on it for the rota.'
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