T… IS FOR “TAKING OVER”

Michael Hamilton

There are certain businesses that don’t just grow, they gather momentum and with Brandon and Mark at the wheel (maybe Mark would build ever so slightly slower), West Coast Hospitality certainly is. In challenging times for all businesses, Brandon and Mark aren’t just gathering momentum, they are picking up serious pace and 2025 has been another momentous year for them and 2026 will be starting with a bang.

With January and February usually being a quieter time in hospitality, a lot of business owners usually recover from the festive period by taking some well-earned time off. Not Brandon and Mark, they’re gearing up to open a brand new venue in Irvine. Not just another Tempura. Not just another Spudbuds. But a full scale ‘mash up’ (get it?), of the two, a hybrid concept that feels exactly what the public wanted. A place where crispy chicken meets loaded tatties in a partnership that makes perfect sense the moment you hear it.

It’s the latest move in what has become one of the most fascinating business evolutions in the area. What started as a single idea has grown into a multi-arm operation with the kind of ambition that refuses to sit still.

Take their newest pride and joy: a fully restored, fully kitted-out Airstream. Polished, impressive and impossible to miss, it looks more at home touring music festivals than navigating Ayrshire roundabouts. Now serving as their mobile base for events and parties, it also reflects the recent addition of Spudbuds to their portfolio — a fresh concept alongside the Tempura model, offering loaded baked potatoes with a range of creative fillings. It’s not just a food truck; it’s a statement piece, bringing West Coast flavour and flexibility to events across the region.

Then there’s the social media. What began as a bit of fun — a way to show off the food and wind each other up, again mainly Mark, has become a full-time business and revenue stream. Their videos are current, funny, and unmistakably engaging, with new staff members becoming overnight sensations. I played golf with Mark and Brandon this year and it was genuinely like golfing with a couple of celebs! They’ve built a digital presence that feels less like marketing and more like entertainment, and people can’t get enough of it. West Coast Marketing isn’t a side project; it’s a fully-fledged operation.

Behind the scenes, they’ve been just as busy. 2025 saw a major investment in their production kitchen, a proper, professional, meticulously designed setup that ensures consistency across every venue. It’s the kind of infrastructure that signals long term thinking, not just short term success. When you’re supplying multiple sites, catering events, and preparing for new openings, you need a backbone, and they’ve built one.

And that’s before we even get to the business portfolio. West Coast now operates four distinct companies: West Coast Hospitality, West Coast Marketing, West Coast Catering, and the newly launched West Coast Property.

It’s a collection that spans food, content, events, and now real estate — a combination that would feel overly ambitious in the hands of most teams. But with these two, it feels like the natural next step.

Which brings us back to Irvine.

A Tempura x Spudbud hybrid is more than a new venue; it’s a marker of where the brand is heading. A place that will no doubt have queues before the doors even open. It’s the physical embodiment of everything West Coast has become: bold, playful, confident, and constantly evolving.

Some businesses follow trends. Some chase them. West Coast seems intent on setting them.
T… is for Taking Over. And they’re nowhere near finished.