18-05-2025
New Glasgow cafe that's been generations in the making
Decked out in black and orange signage, the eye-catching logo shows coffee spilling onto a vinyl record. The words 'championing coffee and records' tell me my ears and tastebuds are in for a treat.
Walking in, I'm greeted by the beaming smile of Alessandro Alonzi, the 22-year-old owner of the fledgling coffee spot, who's just started cleaning up shop for the day.
He put a record I'd picked to be played in the space that week, The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit, on the turntable. As we chatted over the 14 songs, I was given an insight into just how much the cafe means to him and how it's been a long time coming.
New Glasgow cafe that's been generations in the making (Image: Anthony Flett @ Sweeping up shop and rousing up the rich coffee aromas already seeping into the pores of the cafe, Alessandro explains that running a place like this is 'in his DNA'.
He comes from a long line of Italians who've owned and run a variety of businesses, from chip shops to newsagents and, of course, coffee shops.
Producing a photo of his Nonna (Grandmother) Nilda, 90, working behind one of the shop's counters in the 70s, Alessandro proudly shows a photo of them together in Revival when it opened.
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He studied Business at Strathclyde University, and as part of the course, he took a 'family business' module that explained how the entrepreneurial spirit is carried through generations.
Being brought up around those businesses had a big impact on him, Alessandro explained: 'I grew up hearing stories about my Nonna's business and then my first job, when I was about 12 or 13, was working every Saturday in my Nonno's shop selling sweets and ice cream.'
Alessandro's Nonna, Nilda, working in a shop in the 1970s (left) and her with Alessandro (right) (Image: Supplied) Being paid five pounds for three hours of work in Edinburgh gave him more than pocket money; it was enough to ignite a spark in him and start his journey to Revival.
Paolo, his dad, took him out for coffee as a teenager, and the love affair was born. His parents have recently moved to Glasgow, and Alessandro admits the cafe dream came from his dad, who's taking every opportunity to enjoy his caffeine creations after giving him the push he needed to start the business.
Alessandro said: 'It was one of those Scottish moments of being too humble or scared to be seen as ambitious. I used to say I wanted to do this when I graduated, and I'd laugh and put myself down that way.
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'But at some point, I said to myself that I needed to do this, and my dad had a wee chat with me and was like 'either commit to this or go and look for a job', and here we are taking the plunge.'
The passion he has for the business comes through in every word. Flipping over to side B of the record, Alessandro reveals plans to 'keep pushing forward.'
He said: 'It's been a dream come true opening here, but now that I have, I don't want to just open and settle. Because it's a different concept, there's so much I can do with it, especially the vinyl side of things.'
Revival's community-building focus has cemented the vinyl concept with regulars. Only a few months in, Alessandro's ran customer-picked record submissions to ensure the records always bring something new to the space.
He's already planning collaborations with some local record shops and is feverishly working on other ideas he's keeping under wraps for now.
Revival Cafe, located at 43 Hyndland Street (Image: Newsquest) In addition to running the cafe, Alessandro is a Hyrox competitor and will compete in the World Championships in Chicago later this year.
With fitness being his passion and coming together to put yourself through your paces being a great bonding exercise, Revival Run Club was started up as the cafe opened.
Led by Emily Gallacher, the run club has helped build the community around the cafe. Catching up with her as she visited the cafe, she said the importance of this is not lost on her: 'There's been great support for it. Every week, it's been building. It was an important part for Alle when it started. He wanted it to be more than a coffee shop—he wanted to build a community, which from day one he's managed to do.'
As the crackle of the needle coming to the end of the record flows through the cafe, it signals the end of my stop in Revival.
I can't help but ask as I'm about to head out the door to enjoy the evening sun, about which record holds a special place in Alessandro's heart as his favourite.
After much deliberation, he narrowed it down to Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. He's seen The Boss live twice already and hopes to catch him again this year.
