A new “cafe culture” is breathing fresh life into high streets across Scotland with Aberdeen being a significant beneficiary of this new trend.
The number of shops pulling down their shutters for good in Aberdeen is falling, with food entrepreneurs helping the bounce back.
New data shows takeaway outlets are top of the league table for new openings in city centres across Scotland, with demand for both food on the go and home delivery filling the gaps where shops have closed.
In the Granite City, a flurry of restaurants, takeaways and cafes have opened up in former retail spaces in recent years with more on the horizon.
City centre ‘perfect location’
Suzanne Horne and her sister Jenny Bromley opened their patisserie Almondine in a former handbag shop in Chapel Street in October 2020.
Ms Horne said: “It’s got good street appeal with the glass windows, and right on a corner we were able to get some outside seating.
“It was a perfect location with good footfall.
“It’s unfortunate that retail is dying in Aberdeen which is a real shame.
“But I feel like people still do have that bit of money for food and drink which I feel is why more and more people are opening up foodie type businesses because it is still a buoyant trade in Aberdeen.
“With the cost-of-living crisis I think people can still find that few pounds for coming out for a coffee and going out for lunch.”
The following year they opened another cafe in Inverurie, this time in a former bridal shop.
Lowest rate of closures in years
Research by accountancy firm PwC saw net store closures in Scotland are at their lowest rate since 2016, marking an overall positive turn for retail post-pandemic.
Throughout last year, 888 stores north of the border closed their doors, while 669 shops were opened – resulting in a net loss of 219 stores managed by retailers with more than five outlets according to The Local Data Company.
With the overall reduction at -1.4%, Scotland’s closure rate in 2022 is almost a quarter of the 2021 rate – when it was -4.7% – and is even less than the pre-pandemic rate of -3% (in 2019).
It is also below the Great Britain average of -1.7%.
‘Prime location’
Also opening in Union Street was West African restaurant Gidi Grill, run by Mobolaji Adeniyi and his wife Eniloa, in the former Jones shoe shop in November last year.
Mr Adeniyi describes it as a “prime location”, revealing he turned down other sites in favour of Union Street.
He said: “It was an opportunity to create something from a dilapidated building, an opportunity to improve whatever was left there and make it our own.
“There were other sites that were restaurants before and we thought about that. It would’ve cost us less to make it our home but the benefits of creating something out of nothing outweighed financial savings.
“But the location is a prime one for us and the fact nobody does what we do in Aberdeen we thought it was good.”
Union Street plans
A number of planning applications have been made in a hope to breathe new life into Union Street.
Boots announced the closure of the chemist just along from the Trinity Centre and beneath Travelodge last April.
Plans have also been lodged to transform the empty The Works unit on Union Street into a restaurant.
Blueprints show how the kitchen would be upstairs, with a dumb waiter bringing food down to diners.
Welcome to ‘cafe culture’ in Aberdeen
Other categories, such as DIY and pet stores are bouncing back, helped by pandemic trends.
PwC Scotland private business lead Susannah Simpson said: “It’s clear the way in which we use our high streets is changing.
“Takeaway shops and convenience stores sit alongside DIY shops, restaurants, coffee shops and pet shops as the fastest growing categories within our analysis – and retail and leisure operators are responding positively to changing consumer demand.
“You only have to look around key cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to witness the growing café culture and abundance of eateries consumers wish to see.”