For 23-year-old Katie Makin, her dream of opening a café has come sooner than she ever thought possible.
The keen baker has worked at the Cherry Tree café on Low Street in Banff ever since it opened in October 2022.
She swiftly became a familiar face to the locals who come in daily for a warming coffee and a sweet treat.
Katie, from Gardenstown, was even made supervisor by impressed owners Tim and Amy Smith.
Having founded her own baking business – The Bakehouse by Katie – working at the Cherry Tree was the perfect fit for her.
Often working on the early shift, her duties included baking the delicious scones that go on sale to customers.
However, it came as a shock when the Smiths announced they planned to put the café up for sale.
This prompted Katie to evaluate her options.
And after a conversation with the owners, she decided to make the leap and take on the business herself.
“I just thought ‘this is my time’.”
Katie told The Press and Journal: “It’s always been a dream of mine to own a café.
“So when they put it up for sale, and I had been there for so long, I thought this is my time to step up and take it on.
“It’s a real community café.
“I know a lot of the regulars who come in and I quite like chatting to them about their day.
“It’s like one big family.”
Katie will take over the Cherry Tree in June
Katie will take over the café in June and plans to keep it familiar to the loyal regulars.
She does, however, hope to makes some changes to the cafe’s offering, including having some of her signature bakes on the menu.
She said: “A lot of people like coming to the Cherry Tree because it is quite different from other places in Banff.
“Everyone knows everyone when they come in and they talk to each other, and for me I really enjoy that aspect.
“There’s an older lady who lives up in the sheltered housing up the street from the café and she loves coming in, sometimes twice a week.
“She said to me how nice it is to come and talk to people because she lives by herself.
“I want to keep that community feel going when I take over.”
Support for Katie as she takes on challenge of running Cherry Tree
Tim and Amy announced their support for Katie in a social media post.
Having been there from day one, they said they “could never have achieved the success” without her.
Katie, meanwhile, says she knows there will be challenges along the way, but is excited to get started.
Once news spread that Katie was taking over, many regular customers were keen to congratulate her.
She said: “It’s been crazy the number of people who have spoken to me about it.
“Even when I go into Tesco, people stop me and congratulate me. It’s really nice.”
Conversation