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Aden Country Park café closes due to rising costs

The café re-opened in September 2022 following a "massive facelift".

Aden Country Park
The café at Aden Country Park will reopen this summer. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

The café at Aden Country Park is closing due to rising business costs.

The Buchan Development Partnership announced this evening that it was taking “the difficult decision” to close the popular coffee spot at Mintlaw down.

The café reopened in September 2022 after undergoing a “massive facelift” with new insulation and heaters installed, revamped toilets and a new range of gluten-free and vegan options put on the menu.

It had been taken over by management of the Buchan Development Initiative, the business arm of Buchan Development Partnership, and meant that the premises was now owned and run by members of the community.

But tonight the charity partnership said the venture could not go on any longer.

Buchan Development Partnership made a number of improvements ahead of the café’s reopening in 2022. Image: Aden Café.

A spokesperson wrote in a post on Facebook: “It is with regret, we now announce the closure of our popular café.

“The decision was taken by the board of trustees in response to the rising costs to run the business.

“The directors would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff and volunteers who worked so hard to create a friendly, welcoming café and most especially our customers who have been a pleasure to meet and serve.”

Aden Café had been “missed” by the community

Following its revamp in 2022, Buchan Development Initiative said they were delighted to have secured the lease for the café as they knew how much it has been “missed by visitors to the park”.

They said in a statement: “Aden Café has undergone a massive facelift in recent months and is now looking lovely for our opening.

“This is an excellent opportunity for the local community, as the profits from the Aden Café will be used by Buchan Development Partnership to provide free support and advice to Buchan community groups and organisations.”

On its website, the café says that “wherever possible” it would support local producers, using suppliers such as Peter’s Ices.

Dog walkers out for a stroll in Aden Country Park. Image: Paul Glendell / DC Thomson

Numerous people took to social media tonight to say how sad they are to hear about the closure.

Leigh Henderson said: “This will be such a loss.”

Margaret-Jane Cardno added: “So sorry to read this. It was a lovely café & a great asset to the park.

“Hopefully a positive solution can be found going forward.”

Sandra Lyons said: “Such a shame. A park needs a café and this will be missed.

“Perhaps another solution will be found.”

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