If you could add one thing to your village, town or city, would the first thing to spring to mind be a Wetherspoons?
Well, one Banchory local suggested just that after the Press and Journal asked what members of the community would do to improve the town’s hospitality offering last week.
“A Wetherspoons type place would do great in Banchory,” they wrote on the social media post.
While some might scoff at such an idea, it proved a popular comment on our post.
Read on to see what other locals, and local businesses, think Banchory needs for its food and drink scene.
Town locals are also after family-friendly restaurants as 5pm marks curfew for Banchory
The Banchory food and drink scene already boasts a string of successful coffee shops and restaurants.
Ride Coffee House, Buchanan Bistro, Tease Coffee Bar, The Falls of Feugh, Birdhouse Cafe and That Pancake Place are among them.
For the most part, these venues close between 4pm and 5pm (with the odd exception here and there). For example, The Falls of Feugh is open from 5pm to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
It’s clear that locals are eager for extended opening hours, or a new business altogether which opens well into the evening.
“[We need] Family-friendly restaurants and places open after 5pm for chilling (for coffee/tea/ice cream/post-dinner with the kids),” says one reader.
“There’s nowhere to go in the evening other than bars, and even those are on the decline.”
Another wrote: “Somewhere suitable for teens in the evening is desperately needed.”
‘Get real people – Banchory isn’t Aberdeen’
Requests for a chipper restaurant and gin, wine and cocktail bars were also raised, as well as a place to visit “without being surrounded by kids.”
Currently, late-night drinks venues in the town include Scott Skinner’s, The Burnett Arms Hotel and the Restaurant at The Lodge at Banchory Lodge Hotel, to name a few.
“Banchory lacks so much,” added another reader
“The problem with bars and going out now is that everything is so expensive and almost unaffordable for most, so I have no idea how new places will survive.”
Another said: “Existing establishments are okay, same as anywhere else.
“Problem being, same as anywhere, in autumn and winter not enough people go out to justify cost and running of these establishments.
“Get real people – this isn’t Aberdeen.”
‘Evening business in the hospitality sector feels slow,’ says Ride Coffee House owner, so is there cause for keeping venues open later in the day?
Simon Burnside, who runs Ride Coffee House, is aware that while daytime Banchory is “thriving” – with local farmers’ markets partially to thank – this slows down as the day goes on.
His dog-friendly coffee shop on Station Road is a popular pitstop for cyclists and walkers.
“We are lucky – there’s a fantastic range of independent food and drink businesses around Banchory and the surrounding area,” says Simon, from Alford.
“While daytime Banchory is thriving, evening business in the hospitality sector feels slow. It would be nice to see more people out and about after 7pm.”
He added: “Running an independent hospitality venue, or food and drink retail is very hard work these days.
“But rest assured that independent business will be working much harder and will care much more about your experience than most multi branch operators, so please support them.”
Maybe people aren’t staying out late for other reasons…
Another local businessman that applauds the Banchory food and drink scene is Colin Redman, the director of speciality coffee shop Birdhouse Café and small-batch coffee roaster Long Walk Coffee.
The 40-year-old resides in the town, and his café welcomes roughly 700 to 800 people per week.
He believes that more accommodation would benefit the area above all.
It begs the question, are tourists not sticking around in the evening due to a lack of hotels?
Colin said: “Banchory is such a fantastic community, we are very lucky to be able to call it our home.
“For me, the one thing that could be improved is the lack of accommodation.
“The town would benefit from a casual camping site near the centre of town. A couple more hotels wouldn’t go a miss either.
“There are hopefully plans to bring some of these in the near future which would be welcomed.”
Banchory has burrito vans, country house hotels and everything in between
Colin went on to say: “Banchory has a pretty diverse food scene, from burgers and burrito vans to country house hotels and everything in between.
“We are lucky to have lots of great small independent businesses here.”
Burritos from La Cantina food truck in Banchory with my son, I like mine extra spicy so look how she labelled it 😍 pic.twitter.com/Ix5symwAyS
— Judith 🇺🇦🙏 🏴 (@Judith652) June 15, 2022
Charlotte Carter, the owner of That Pancake Place, added: “I love the variety that the town offers, from food trucks to our Italian restaurant Mamma Mia, and great coffee shops like Ride, Tease and Birdhouse.”
That Pancake Place serves, you guessed it, buttermilk pancakes with a vast selection of sweet and savoury toppings, as well as in-house baked goods, barista-style coffees and more.
It has been operating since September 2022.
“Banchory is a friendly and thriving community with a village-style High Street comprising independent shops with an ethos of helping each other,” the 32-year-old said.
“Unfortunately, there a few empty shops on the High Street at the moment but I believe some leases are in negotiation.”
What would you like to see added to Banchory’s High Street? Let us know in the comments section…
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