‘Its been a long time coming’: Cable Cafe opens at Burghead Beach

An old building disused for more than 20 years at Burghead Beach has been given a new lease of life as a cafe.

The abandoned building has been transformed, with a vibrant green coat of paint and gold lettering which says Cable Cafe.

The cafe is the new venture for Elaine Sutherland, who has been dreaming of bringing the building back to life, a sentiment shared by Burghead residents.

Ms Sutherland said: “It was just in an amazing position, and Burghead doesn’t really have somewhere that sells ice cream or anything like that.

“We walk along the beach all the time and wish there was somewhere we could grab a coffee or an ice cream.

“Burghead is so underestimated. It is a beautiful place with an amazing beach and harbour. There is so much to do.”

After months of work getting the building ready, the cafe finally opened the shutters on Saturday, August 3.

Ms Sutherland and her team were delighted to see dozens of people had already formed a queue, eager for their ice cream fix.

Cable Cafe will also sell home bakes and coffee as well and the opening is just in time to catch the tail end of the tourist season.

She always hopes to entice customers who may be walking their dogs along the beach or those staying in the caravan park.

Sunshine as Cable Cafe opens near Burghead Beach

According to Ms Sutherland, the building used to be an old junction box, where cables would run up the coast and onwards to Shetland.

It was previously known as Cable Cottage and has been expanded over the years.

Hence the name Cable Cafe.

The sun was shining down on the cafe as families enjoyed their ice cream while sitting on the benches nearby, admiring the stunning views of Moray Firth.

Ms Sutherland said the atmosphere when they opened was “incredible” and was so thankful for the support from the community.

Many customers told her they had “waited 20 years for a cafe to open” at that spot and that “it’s been a long time coming”.

She recalled the first customer, Rhona Graham, saying she had waited more than 25 years for a cafe to arrive.

Ms Sutherland added: “Everyone had been so positive since we started work on the cafe everyone has been encouraging.”