Gosh it is day eighteen already in our Independent Business on The Bay Series!

Meet David ..

I’m David Waddington, owner of ‘Miaitalia’ pizzeria In Bolton-le-Sands, ‘Miogelato’ wholesale and ‘Scoop&Grind’ Gelateria in Morecambe.

Grown up locally, then following a brief flirtation with Television Production and Journalism, started a small business with my wife Katy in 2007. We bought a mobile coffee franchise, trading for six successful years at UCLan in Preston, along with all manner of outdoor events! In 2010, we also created and opened ‘Miaitalia’ in its first guise, as a retail shop in Kirkby Lonsdale. In 2013 we moved to current location in Bolton-le-Sands, opening the pizzeria. Katy and I have three gorgeous boys, Joseph, 11, and George and Leo, both eight - and we live in Arkholme.

In 2016, I started a spin off business, ‘Miogelato’, with Jon Mole, who’s also the general manager of the ‘Miaitalia Family’ of businesses. The idea behind Miogelato was to be able to produce and supply Miaitalia with gelato, whilst also looking to wholesale.

We’d previously used a brand of gelato from Soho in London, which was really high quality, so our aim was to better that! In 2017 we opened a retail front at the premises on Queen Street, selling twelve different flavours of our gelato.

In that time, Paul Hart, owner of Hart’s ice cream shop on the Promenade had been in touch about selling to retire. I negotiated over the Summer, eventually buying Hart’s in November 2017. After a rebrand, I opened ‘Scoop&Grind’ in February 2018, where we retail 22 flavours from our Miogelato range, as well as hot & cold drinks and snacks. In the same year, ‘Miogelato’ won ‘Best Newcomer’ at the U.K. Ice Cream Awards.

I’m driven to continually improve, craft and perfect - whether that’s the quality of food or the consistency in how it’s produced and delivered. I also enjoy creating a ‘brand’. Hart’s could’ve simply been rebranded as ‘Miogelato’, but I was keen for it to have an individual identity - and one that suited the seaside location, hence the slightly tongue in cheek name. The overall ‘look’ is one of nostalgia but with modern elements.

In 2007, there was just Katy and I, whereas I now have 20 employees working across all three sites, so I’ve had to draw on my own experiences as an employee, but also develop a business ethos that is attractive to other people in terms of working environments. I’ve employed approaching a hundred people in the past 12 years, from baristas, to retail sales, to pizzaiolo and hospitality, to gelato makers and sellers.

You learn something new from each person you employee - and I hope I’ve inspired a few along the way. I’m very proud that I’ve created jobs for local people, that previously didn’t exist.

I feel vindicated in my efforts by the retention of our employees, the environment in which they operate and the support we receive from our customers (as well as the awards we’ve collectively won!). Miaitalia has won ‘Best Pizzeria’ at 2016 U.K Italian Awards, ‘Best Italian Establishment’ at the Food England Awards 2017 and ‘Best Family Dining’ Award at 2018 Lancashire Life Awards, along with several other nominations across the years. Miogelato won at the U.K. Ice Cream Awards last year and ‘Scoop&Grind’ has been nominated in the ‘Best Gelateria’ category at this year’s Italian Awards.

Scoop&Grind is on Marine Road Central (Promenade) in Morecambe, opposite the Clock Tower.

Award-winning Gelato. Quality Coffee http://www.scoopandgrind.co.uk Treats@scoopandgrind.co.uk