Our Story
Walking on an East Lothian cliff edge on a wet and windy day, Stuart and Jo McNicol just knew they’d found the perfect location for a dream café.
Inspired by an up-cycled shipping container that was being used to serve tea in Bristol, the husband and wife team put together Drift’s unusual structure, and combined their experience – Stuart’s background is in farming, and Jo worked in hospitality – to create a truly special place.
They started off simply in 2018, serving coffee and cake, but now, as part of their farm diversification plans, they also offer a bistro style brunch and lunch menu that focuses on seasonal Scottish produce prepared fresh every day.
And it’s not just their offering that has grown: they have expanded their team – who they very much see as family – and confidence, and were thrilled to be part of the Scottish Enterprise Agritourism Project from 2019 - 2022. Receiving Visit Scotland’s Taste Our Best and Lothian and Borders Food Tourism awards in October 2022 truly put the cherry on top of the cake.
Drift, a coffeehouse set in unique surroundings providing local employment, good hospitality and freshly prepared food using locally sourced produce, was funded in part with a grant from the The European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas, Scottish Government and European Union Tyne Esk LEADER 2014-2020 Programme.
