Marco Giannasi has revealed that he has decided to retire after 50 years in the industry, entrusting his business, The Battlefield Rest, to a long serving staff member.
Marco who established the Battlefield Rest in the Southside in 1994, sold the ongoing venture to Alex Matheson, and his spouse, Jen Doherty, in December and has only recently decided to announce the sale.
Marco and his wife Yellena still own the historic property and are now landlords of the business, which employs 22 people. Marco remains involved in the restaurant, working four half-days each week. He said that he had considered easing the work pressure and focusing more on life’s realities before lockdown and that he had provided staff the chance to take over the business, with the alternative being a public sale.
Marco, who had studied architecture in Lucca, Italy, first entered the Glasgow hospitality industry in the early 1970’s after his father Luigi’s passing. Luigi had operated L’ariosto in Mitchell Street and established Glasgow’s inaugural Italian eatery, Canasta in Parliamentary Road, in the late 1950s.
Marco continued to manage L’ariosto with his mother, Leda, for about eight years before selling it. He later revitalised the Pirn Inn in Balfron, operated it for seven years, opened Toscana in Milngavie, and subsequently launched Battlefield Rest in 1994.
