License Interview by Nicola Walker
Boteco Do Brasil began its journey in Glasgow 15 years ago and the venue still hosts some of the best parties in town!
The man behind it is Luigi Aseni, who is ambitious and driven, but also a lot of fun to be around, even though he does tell me he has calmed down a lot since becoming a father and now goes home at 1am rather that 4am!
I’ve known Luigi a long time. In fact, he reminds me that it was 2003, when he first came to Scotland from the small Italian town of Palo Del Colle, near Bari. It turns out that I was the DJ who played the soundtrack to his first night out in Glasgow.
He laughs, “For someone who came from the South of Italy Glasgow was ‘Glasvegas’!
“On our first night out, we went to The Garage nightclub on a Tuesday night and there was over 1000 people there. We walked up the stairs and The Killers and Franz Ferdinand were playing, and everyone was going mad!”
He even jokes that I may have played a trick on him, and this is why he ended up making Glasgow his new home despite only intending to stay for three months. Upon arriving in Scotland he started working at Stavka on Sauchiehall Street, which was owned by Donald Macleod and Michele Pagliocca of CPL at the time – a big change from what he did for a living in Italy!
He comments, “Before I came to Scotland, I had been an accountant in Italy. I spent four years working in a 16m square office with an old router making noises all day and a photocopier that was the size of a Mini Cooper and hotter than the sun! I heard that Michele was recruiting Italians to come and work here and it was something different and a great opportunity.
“I started off in Stavka as a pizza chef and on the opening night I made 180 pizzas – by the time I got home my hands were shaking. That was the beginning of my hospitality career!
“Stavka was a very good experience, and I think the concept was before its time for Glasgow in terms of the standard, décor and offering.”
After a couple of years Luigi decided to follow the man responsible for his move to Scotland, Michele, who had decided to go out on his own. His first venue was The Butterfly and the Pig and other venues soon followed. He worked his way up through the business becoming Assistant Manager at The Shed and then General Manager at The Classic Grand. Eventually he and two others decided to take over the Classic Grand lease from Michele in 2008.
However, he was itching to move on to something with a better work life balance and that felt more personal to him. Says Luigi, “The Merchant City was very up and coming at the time. There were good operators in the area with lots of different offers such as Maggie Mays, O’Neills, Metropolitan and lots of different restaurants. We wanted to do something different and, after talking to a few Brazilian friends, we came up with the idea of Boteco Do Brasil, which opened in 2010.”
He continues, “In the beginning there were three partners – myself, Michele and Forbes Manson. However, after the first 12 months, the others decided not to carry on and I took the leap and went out on my own. I had gained lots of knowledge from The Classic Grand, plus I was ambitious, I believed in the concept and I thought Boteco really reflected my personality. and that was what it was about for me.
“No matter how you were dressed, what age, sexuality or religion you were, everyone was welcome at Boteco. I wanted to create a feeling that as soon as you walked in the door you were able to leave all of the stress from life behind and feel like you were on holiday – with live music, DJs and dancers!”
He continues, “Initially Boteco was only licensed till midnight. I think we were one of the last venues to get a hybrid license from Glasgow City Council. After that the concept just exploded and lots of people were talking about it.”
After a few years Boteco Do Brasil Glasgow was performing well and Luigi set his sights on opening another unit. It was then an opportunity arose with Caledonian Heritable in Edinburgh. The venue was just opposite the University and says Luigi, “the license and layout were perfect. We opened the second Boteco there in 2013.”
However, with this taste of success, Luigi had no intention of stopping there. First, in 2015, due to his attachment to the first Scottish venue he had worked in, Stavka (which was by then Juan Chihuahua), he decided to take on its lease with Gary Hermans. Then in 2017 he also opened Piccolino, a small Italian restaurant in Edinburgh at the same time he purchased the freehold of the Boteco Do Brasil Glasgow property from Colin Beattie.
He laughs, “I agreed to do something small with Gary but that didn’t happen as we ended up taking on this massive unit that became Mango. It was the same kind of Latin American concept as Boteco, but it was a different market due to Sauchiehall Street being more student orientated. I sold my share to Gary in 2021, and he still has it.” He explains, “I was thinking at that point I would step back a little bit as my first son had been born.”
However, that didn’t happen! Shortly afterwards he took the lease for Bar 91 in Glasgow’s Merchant City. He says, “I wanted to take on Bar 91 as for me it was part of the life of the Merchant City. I haven’t really changed it much, just a small revamp but I kept the same name and identity.”
However, that’s not all that keeps Luigi busy, as over the years he has bought land in Italy where he produces his own delicious wine called Terra. He explains, “It started when I bought a field near Bari in Italy, in 2018. I was originally more interested in the 18th century building that was there, but then I saw the opportunity of the vineyard on the land. We started to analyse the grapes and the quality of wine we could produce.
“The first wine production was in 2020 and I’ve since bought another five fields to expand the wine production. We use this wine in all our venues as well as our own Extra Virgin Olive Oil made from the 660 olive trees growing there. We are extremely proud of the quality of both.
“We still use the building for gatherings for family and friends. It’s a beautiful space in the countryside for parties and the wine is already there!”
Talking of parties, Luigi is planning a big one for Boteco Do Brasil’s 15th birthday! Taking place on the weekend of the 24th and 25th of January there will be a Latin band coming from London, lots of dancers and a big homemade cake!
He adds, “I think the secret to the longevity of Boteco is that I’m still very hands on, so we can control the costs and the waste. We’ve always been careful, but now it’s more important than ever. “We also have a great regular customer base, and we’re located close to places like Celtic Park, the Barrowland and The Old Fruitmarket – so there are lots of different events to bring people in. We have the benefit that we can easily change the layout of our tables from day to night and we’re always adding new things to the décor, menu and drinks to keep the interest.”
Another big event coming up in 2026 for Luigi will be his wedding. He recently became engaged to Skarlett who he shares two children with, Leonardo, 3, and Victoria, 2.
He smiles, “Everything is coming together in a good way. There are not so many late nights now and instead there are very early mornings. It relaxes me to play with the kids and I’m really focused on them now. I’m definitely a little bit calmer than I used to be!
“We have a very good team of 60-70 staff across all the units, so I don’t have to stay to the very end of shift anymore. We did have staffing issues due to Brexit as we previously appealed to a lot of European people that came over to study or work. It’s much more restricted now, but we’ve adapted to that.”
In 2024, Boteco Do Brasil was crowned Favela Latin American Venue of the Year at our own Scottish Bar and Pub Awards and Luigi was delighted. He smiles, “We were the original Latin bar in Scotland, and we provide the full package of great food, drinks, entertainment and a late licence. There are others now, but it just challenges us to do better. The award was a great achievement, and it’s something for the staff to be proud of, especially with the amount of hours, energy and preparation we put in.”
Luigi shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. He laughs, “I’d never say never to something else. Once I see how the English market bounces back, I’d like to expand the Boteco brand to England.” During the interview, I had asked him to sum up Boteco Do Brasil for me and his words were, “Boteco is what you see and what you get – colourful, warm and friendly.”
I can’t help feeling that this doesn’t just apply to Boteco but to his personality as well! I can’t wait to see where he is in another 15 years!
See the Magazine for 15 Facts About Boteco Do Brasil.