Brian Milne was barely two years into running Aberdeen’s coffee institution MacBeans when he found himself hunched over his laptop typing up a statement he dreaded making public…
Prices were going up. There was no way around it.
Would there be a backlash? Would the loyal customers who had been keeping the business afloat desert the Little Belmont Street shop?
Nerves jangling, he hit “post”. And then something unexpected happened.
It was met with encouragement from an army of shoppers desperate to see independent businesses like MacBeans survive.
But now Brian is worried about another blow on the horizon: The looming closure of a city centre mainstay that drives a lot of business his way…
Opening up about his time running the roastery, Brian reveals:
- Why he decided to ditch his oil and gas career to take a chance on MacBeans
- The complex art of buying coffee, which works the same way as purchasing quantities of gold
- And why he has not been tempted to move to Union Street – despite deals designed to fill empty units on the Granite Mile
A chance dog-walking encounter led to coffee career
Chatting over a piping hot Americano, Brian tells me the story of how he made a radical career change to take over MacBeans.
The 47-year-old had worked in the oil and gas industry for more than two decades, being involved in the chemicals side of the field.
But his head was turned in 2022, when rumours began to swirl that former owner of MacBeans Ian Cukrowski was thinking of retiring.
Brian explains: “I had been a customer for a long time, and I had got to a stage in my career in oil and gas where I was becoming quite dissatisfied with that world, and a bit jaded.
“I knew the previous owner of Macbeans semi-socially, through being a customer but also my wife bumping into him whilst walking the dog.
“I had heard he was thinking of retiring, but that he didn’t know what to do with the business… And that was stopping him from retiring.”
After years of deliberating, the 47-year-old eventually plucked up the courage to write Ian a letter, and arranged a meeting in a pub.
And over a pint, the pair agreed that Brian was the right man to carry on the legacy of MacBeans on Little Belmont Street.
How has Brian’s first two years at MacBeans been?
Since taking over from Ian two years ago, Brian tells me that his change from chemicals to coffee has been “very exciting, but also a learning curve”.
“I feel I’ve been able to bring some new skills to the business,” Brian explains.
“It opened decades ago and had some ways of working that were quite old and set in their ways.
“We modernised some of the back-room business management, but we have always had a great reputation with our customers, and that’s thanks to the hard work of Ian.”
Ian ran MacBeans for 35 years before 2022, having also came from an oil and gas background, making the career change after narrowly avoiding the Piper Alpha disaster.
Brian continues: “He worked really hard to make a strong customer base and I’m always aware of that.
“We still have a lot of customers who come in and talk about being customers for a long time.
“I have to carry on Ian’s legacy. There’s pressure in that respect.”
The current MacBeans boss told us back in May about how he had to put prices up for the first time in his tenure, following coffee prices skyrocketing globally.
And for Brian, buying coffee isn’t as simple as tapping your card or handing over the cash…
How does MacBeans buy coffee?
For a roastery producing as much coffee as MacBeans does, buying in beans isn’t a straightforward task.
“Coffee is a commodity product, it’s traded on the New York Stock Exchange,” the connoisseur tells me.
He even let me in on how he has already began buying next year’s supply, having just sealed a deal with his trader in London.
“Quite often there are price increases that come about because speculative traders see the price go up and all pile in, trying to make their quick buck.”
The market exploded in May, with Brian having to pay between 25% and 35% more for the same beans.
“That’s one of the things I have to manage, watching these coffee price spikes come and go,” he added.
And despite rising costs, MacBeans’ loyal customers have stood by Brian.
‘Loyal customers stood by me – despite price increase’
When raising prices for the first time, Brian was hesitant as to how his devoted coffee lovers would react to the changes.
That was when he sent out that anxious Facebook post.
Being greeted with overwhelming support and understanding from his army of java junkies took him aback somewhat.
“I was very nervous about putting our prices up. It’s a competitive market, and we’re not the only roaster in Aberdeen,” Brian admits.
“But when we did, it was really nice to hear the feedback we got from our customers.
“All the feedback we got was positive and encouraging.”
‘Belmont is absolutely the right place to be for MacBeans’
Ahead of the Big Belmont Bash on Saturday, we have been showcasing the stories of traders along the historic cobbles.
Singing the area’s praises, Brian beams: “We’re in an area that benefits from a lot of footfall, especially when a lot of other areas in the city are seeing a decline.
“Belmont is absolutely the right place to be.
In our latest analysis of independent businesses in Aberdeen, we found that 78% of traders on Belmont Street were independent.
‘Belmont is better for independent traders than Union Street’
Compared to Union Street, Belmont Street has 30% more of it’s units filled by independent traders.
But why exactly is Belmont more attractive to small scale businesses, even with enticing incentives to move to the Granite Mile?
Brian thinks this could be down to the size of the units.
“It’s an attractive area to be in, but that could be because the shop units are smaller,” the MacBeans boss suggests.
“I’ve tentatively considered whether or not to take advantage of the incentives to move onto Union Street.
“But there is no way I could fill some of those massive units, despite the incentives.
“Having smaller, discreet kind of units helps smaller businesses on Belmont Street.”
“And I think that other smaller businesses couldn’t take on the burden of a huge unit and the rates required as well.
Could M&S closure damage takings?
Whilst MacBeans is looking to expand his offerings into their own teabags and more varieties, Brian is still cautious when looking to the future.
In January, Marks and Spencer bosses announced they were closing their flagship Aberdeen branch on St Nicholas Street.
It will be closed by next spring.
The department store will relocate to Union Square, but Brian fears that he could miss out on the customers that “keep MacBeans going”.
“I do worry for when Marks and Spencer moves, because a lot of our customers through the week are older people.
“The people that keep us going through the week are older, retired people, and they have always got an M&S bag.
“So when M&S moves down to Union Square, I do wonder if MacBeans will be enough of a draw to pull them up here.
“That is what I’m nervous about.
“I just hope that our customer loyalty extends to walking up from Union Square to get their coffee.”
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