Black Sheep Coffee on Union Street in Aberdeen is becoming an important spot for the brand in the North East. The café offers speciality coffee, good-value deals, and a flexible space right in the city centre.
Franchisee and Brand GM David Moore told Larder Magazine that the store has quickly become popular with students, remote workers, and local residents who want a place to spend the day with steady hours and comfortable seating.
Moore noted that the store quickly became a favourite spot for sitting, working, and studying. He said: “When we first opened, people loved it. They especially liked the upstairs area, and the seats are very comfortable and quite big. It’s a great place to sit, look out onto Union Street, and watch the world go by.”
Coffee is still the main focus at Black Sheep. Their signature blend, which uses more robusta beans, has a stronger taste than many other high-street chains.
Along with classic espresso drinks, the menu features fun iced drinks and colourful specials. When I visited, the strawberry matcha and spicy mango lemonade stood out and showed the brand’s creative side.
Beyond beverages, there is also a strong focus on variety and presentation across the wider menu, with waffles, toasties and lighter options helping the store trade effectively throughout the day, encouraging people to stay longer, whether they are dropping in between lectures or setting up for a full afternoon of laptop work.
A big part of what makes the café stand out is its interior, decorated with bold graffiti art. Moore said the brand hires specialist artists for each new location, and the murals on Union Street are meant to reflect the local area.
“Before we opened, graffiti artists were flown in from Barcelona and got an absolute free licence to do whatever they wanted,” he said. “They try to tie it in with the city and its landmarks. The artists spent the first day walking around the city, getting a feel for the place and the landmarks, and then they came in and did the walls.”
In addition to the unique interior, Black Sheep is pitching itself on value at a time when customers are watching their spending. The Union Street store runs a series of day-part deals to make regular visits more affordable.
Moore said: “Everything’s so expensive and people are very conscious of their money. We’ve got a breakfast roll and coffee deal, a lunch deal where you get your toastie with a hot and a cold drink, and an evening waffle and drink deal. We do a toastie and a drink for £5.99, which is really good for the city centre when you think that similar things elsewhere can be almost double that.”
Students are a big part of the customer base, but the café aims to be welcoming to everyone. As Moore said, “Students are definitely one of our biggest client groups here. We’ve got 20 per cent off for students and certain exclusive deals for them, and that’s all year round, not just at the start of term.
Those who aren’t students still get deals through the app and the offers we run in store, so it feels like an accessible, good-quality coffee option for everyone on Union Street.” He also mentioned that the variety of seating and plug-in points means “you can easily spend a few hours here without feeling rushed.”
Extending its community role, the upstairs floor is already being used by local groups and sits at the heart of future plans for the site, with Black Sheep keen to position the store as both a flexible community space and a café.
Moore said: “We’ve got the space upstairs that we can let out if people want to use it. We’ve already had groups from Aberdeen University a few times, and we’re looking at how we can make more of that – using the upstairs as a regular space for events, meetings and community groups in the North East, while keeping it a relaxed coffee-shop environment rather than a late-night venue.”
Looking ahead, Moore also pointed to ongoing conversations with city partners about making better use of the building and the surrounding area, including work with Aberdeen Inspired on potential uses for the upper floors and on wider Union Street activity.
He said: “It’s about not having empty space above you. If we can get more happening upstairs as well as on the ground floor, it all adds to the feeling that Union Street is alive again.”
“There’s a lot happening with the market redevelopment and efforts to bring more activity back into this part of town.
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“If we can offer good coffee, fair pricing and a space people actually want to spend time in, then we’re doing our bit to make Union Street – and the wider city centre in the North East – feel busy and welcoming.”
