It’s almost 20 years since May and Grant Montgomery closed the Brown Egg Farm in Inchinnan, and opened a new farm shop and café at Ardardan Estate, near Cardross.

Yet every day a customer or two will bring up their first shop in conversation, as they remember fondly the visits they had to the little shop that perched at the end of the Georgetown Road, in Inchinnan.

I doubt it was the taste of the eggs that they bought there or the food in the shop that lingers in their memory two decades later, what I think it is – and what is still evident at Ardardan all these years later – is the personalities involved and warmth of the welcome that they receive.

When we meet, May comes rushing over full of chat and warmth even though we haven’t seen each other in around 15 years, and even then I knew her only from showing sheep at local shows. She is a friend to everyone and daughters, Sara and Sue, are out of the same mould. This is a quality that you cannot put a price on.

Things have moved on considerably since the Brown Egg Farm days. Ardardan is now a bustling farm shop/deli, café, gift shop and garden centre, set within a restored wall garden on the banks of the River Clyde.

There are walks to wander around the farm, animals to meet. Their logo says it all: Eat. Shop. Walk. Simply enjoy!

May heads off to chat to all the customers coming through the doors. Grant is getting on with jobs on the farm taking care of the animals, along with son-in-law Jerry. They keep the Highland cattle, Texel sheep, pigs and hens in check, as well as being in charge of the tractor and trailer rides around the farm, in their custom-made trailer, a new addition to the farmer’s duties.

It’s a Thursday morning, the doors open at 10am and there is a queue outside the café when I arrive.

I’m not the first car in the car park. There are customers already milling around the farm shop.

A cousin of the family, Hannah Abernethy, is in charge of the shop. With a background in teaching, Hannah has also introduced all sorts of events for children to come to Ardardan and get involved, eg, Little Diggers Club, where kids come and plant in the raised beds.

There are ranges of steak pies, soups, cakes, home-grown beef, and lamb, which are all produced on the premises, and which are popular with customers. The other thing that catches the customer's imagination is that any products they consume in the coffee shop can be bought in the shop. They have already tasted them, and then they buy with confidence.

A cheese counter was added in 2008. Sue studied for a cheese diploma to make sure that the cheese side of the business was developed with knowledge and now the counter is well run with a lot of love from the shop team.

The customer service is paramount throughout and the addition of the cheeses and olives gives the shop more of a deli experience.

The aim is always to have a personal feel, hands-on always says Sara. “That’s what people come for,” she added.

The tearoom offers fresh light lunches and home baking which is baked and prepared in the Ardardan kitchen using products from the farm and farm shop. It is immensely popular.

They offer afternoon tea, which is enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment, as well as welcoming larger groups who take advantage of their tearoom for get-togethers.

They put up a marquee in the summer to deal with the afternoon tea demand. Local groups host their annual outings at Ardardan and if they get some notice, they can cope with most scenarios.

Sara is in charge of the tearoom and the decision to have table service is deliberate. The family want customers to have that personal service with a member of staff, or team as the Montgomerys emphasise.

They have extended and remodelled many times over the years, including its garden nursery, which focuses on quality Scottish and British plants. Mostly chosen by Grant and cared for by newest member of the team, Fiona Bell, the nursery is filling up nicely at this time of year.

Now that their daughters, Sue and Sara, have come into the business, May and Grant can appreciate the skills and experience that the girls picked up while they were off studying and working abroad. But they are delighted that the family unit are working together and doing it well.

Sue told me that when she was growing up, it never occurred to her that she would be in the family business. Both had their own careers in mind and the farm shop was always viewed as their parents’ vision.

However, over the years they realised that they had the same passion for Ardardan and ‘the Monty way’ that they had been brought up with.

May added it is working well because they are honest with each other. They each have a division of the business that they head up.

However, all decisions are discussed at a weekly meeting where ideas are raised, batted down, and ironed out. No one has overall control, there are four directors and decisions have to be taken for the overall good of the business.

However, the family acknowledge they couldn’t run it all without their 50-plus staff's dedication.

“We try to lead by example,” said May. “The team we have here are people we want to work with. I compare it to an extended family, we want them to be happy at work, we respect them, and we hope to receive respect back.”

The location of Ardardan is perfect. It sits on the banks of the Clyde with tremendous views from the woodland walks. And there is no doubt it is now a ‘destination’.

Sue says they have a varied range of customers. During the week there are many ‘ladies that lunch’, the weekend sees many families with young kids. They also have the benefit of passing traffic between Helensburgh and Dumbarton.

They host various annual events. The family said that local support is paramount in the success of these events and the business as a whole. They host the annual vintage tractor rally on the first Sunday in July, a scarecrow festival in September, local school’s spring bulbs competition, as well as Easter egg hunts, family fun days and lots more.

Because of their location lots of bird watchers pop down, take a stroll around the woodland walk and finish off with lunch in the tearoom.

Any kids’ events they host are immensely popular and they can see there is a demand that needs supplied.

Sue has taken on the role of business development, but they all agree that they are going to concentrate on attracting more families to Ardardan. They have joined the National Farm Attraction Network, which has been useful for advice.

May and Grant are delighted that the girls are involved now, and they can see they are putting their own stamp on the business. Sue added: “We are immensely proud of what mum and dad have built. They took a huge leap of faith buying a derelict estate.

"They had both the Brown Egg Farm running as well as trying to get Ardardan up and running for a few years, it was really hard work. They saw the potential, had the vision, and were brave enough to go for it.”

I ask Sara what she would ideally like an Ardardan customer to take away with them after a visit.

“I expect them to have a personal experience, a people experience if you like. I want them to leave with a smile, find quality in everything that we do, and I want them to want to come back.”

May is nodding along at Sara’s words. “If you don’t like people, forget it. You’re in the wrong business. You’re only as good as your last scone,” she says, as she waves to someone else she knows who has come through the door and shoots off for a chat with them too.

www.ardardan.co.uk