The cheers were still echoing around Glasgow’s MacSorley’s when Mary and Brandon Doherty returned home from the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards with the Sunday Mail Pub of the Year Mirror. The slogan now painted proudly on the pub’s front – Sunday Mail Pub of the Year! – says it all.
“It’s one of our proudest moments,” says Mary. “We’ve worked so hard, and seeing it there every day reminds us how far we’ve come.”
Brandon and Mary admit it’s been a hard slog at times, but say that the award has made all their efforts worthwhile and the icing on the cake is that customers have been flooding in since they heard the news.
Says Mary, “It has been lovely – they brought us congratulations cards and even champagne, but best of all I think we have seen lots of new customers too.” It’s hard to imagine now, but when they first took over MacSorley’s six years ago, the pub was in a state.
“There was not much to love the very first time we walked in after getting the keys,” says Mary.
“Then we had a flood. I used to be here every morning clearing the water out from downstairs.”
Brandon laughs, remembering the early chaos. “I remember having to shut the pub at 7pm one night and asking the staff to help get the drains cleared. It was awful. Just as well we had a great team.”
Before MacSorley’s, Mary and Brandon had already built up years of experience in hospitality. Mary began her career at just 16, cycling from Kings Park to Eastwood for early breakfast shifts at The Redhurst Hotel on Glasgow’s Southside.
“I used to work there while I was still at school,” she recalls with a smile. “At the weekend I’d cycle from Kings Park to Eastwood for a 6 a.m. breakfast shift, then stay on for the bar lunches – although, of course, I couldn’t serve alcohol because I was only 16! I’d help with the barrel changes, do the dinner service in the evening, and sometimes even cover overnight shifts as night porter, then I’d be down in the morning to start breakfast again before heading home after Sunday lunch.
“It was tough, but when you’re young you’ve got the energy. Those long days taught me so much – and looking back, I think that’s where I got the hospitality bug.”
Her path wasn’t a straight one. “I worked in double glazing with my brother when my family were young, and for Scottish Power – and also worked in a petrol station which I hated,” she admits. But when she went back into hospitality, she realised it was where she belonged.
By then, she had three boys – the youngest of whom is Brandon. Brandon joined his mum in hospitality at just 16, starting as a dishwasher. At the time, Mary was managing The Piper in Glasgow, having taken it on after a stint at The Rhoderick Dhu.
“Tommy Kirkland persuaded me to have a look at The Piper with a view to managing it,” she explains. “He was just starting out with it and although initially I turned it down, he persuaded me. It was hard work getting it up and running well, but once we knew what we were aiming for it was great.”
While she was there, Tommy sadly died, but Mary continued to run The Piper for his wife Gillian, staying eight years in total before she and Brandon decided it was time to look for their own place.
By then, Brandon had picked up experience in kitchens, at festivals, and behind the bar. Says Mary, “I had always wanted to have our own pub so we talked about it and then we started looking for one. I saw that MacSorley’s was up for lease and we came and looked at it. We knew it needed a lot of TLC, but I just loved the history of the pub and the look of it. It seemed a natural step for the two of us.”
Negotiations with Star Pubs took time, but once the deal was done, they threw themselves in. “At the beginning on the music side it was very much trial and error,” says Brandon. “Some people think it is easy running a music bar, but it’s not. It was difficult trying to work out what people liked. It was also hectic, as we had a tonne of work to do in the pub – from giving it a thorough clean to putting in a new sound system to sorting out the back bar – there were no taps on the bar when we came in, everything was gone and the kitchen was sitting in the pub! Don’t ask!”
Then came the pandemic – and instead of breaking them, it made them stronger. “It was difficult,” says Brandon, “but it seemed to work out because we had such a good team working with us, and working with my mum helped – we are very much like brother and sister, rather than mum and son.”
The business has also flourished since then. Says Brandon. “There are so many more hotels in the area and if people want to enjoy some music and a traditional pub, the concierges send them because they know it is a safe place and offers good food too. It means we have all nationalities coming through the door. The tour buses also stop nearby and the whole bus will empty into our pub. You get to talk to all these people who are travelling. We’re really lucky.”
He smiles. “I also love when people come back for more than one night because they like the pub. It makes you feel like you’re doing a good job. We’ve built up a great regular clientele – really nice people who respect the pub, which means we very rarely have any trouble. Our customers come to have a good time and that’s what we try and deliver.
“MacSorley’s has always been a music pub, but people when they walk in now say it’s more homely, and our customers interact with each other and are very friendly. They also love how it looks.”
Mary agrees. “Just look at the window panes – some of them are the original glass which was from Georgia, Atlanta. It was shipped over and is crystal cut. Obviously over the years a lot of the panes have got damaged but there are still a lot of original pieces. It’s definitely got charm and I think our customers like that too.”
MacSorley’s attracts everyone from regulars aged between 35 and 60 to students and young music lovers.
“There’s now a new generation of music lover coming through,” says Brandon. “It’s great that people of all ages mix – music brings people together and folk from all ages can enjoy the same show.
“Rock music is still the main draw here, but we have lots of different genres – from country to mod bands. I remember the first night Spiders on Mars played here – and the place was sold out. They usually played bigger venues, and I felt a bit emotional. We get lots of great wedding bands that come in too. Some of them are just brilliant.
“Music in Glasgow is definitely where it is at. If we didn’t have music I’m not sure where we would be.” It’s not just the music – both Mary and Brandon put much of their success down to their team.
“We had 18 before COVID,” says Mary, “but over the years, slowly but surely, some have moved on. But if they’re here for a long time, we’ll make sure they get their personal licence. We believe that people ought to do what they want to do. But a couple have been here since the start – Sean and Ben. And others go, but come back, such as Carmen.
“She met her husband here. She was a customer, and he was on the bar. They worked in here together for a while, and then decided to get married and we did their wedding dinner. He now plans tours for torists, but Carmen had to apply for a visa, so she had to go back home to Spain, but now everything has come through she is back. It’s also great because she speaks about four different languages and with all the tourists we get that is a great help.”
There’s one thing for certain – they may have a good team behind them, but Mary and Brandon also have an incredible relationship. Work-wise, Mary does the day shift – in at 9am, finishing at 5pm – and Brandon takes over in the evenings. He also comes in early when deliveries are due.
For mother and son time, they make a point of having dinner together on Sundays, often at McMillans on the Southside. They even manage a five-day holiday together after New Year – a rare treat in the pub trade. But one that is well-deserved. As for the future, would they consider another pub? Mary smiles. “If the right one came up.” Brandon winked.