Mackie’s of Scotland is to open its first branded retail unit at the £107m Marischal Square development in Aberdeen. The firm has signed a 15 year lease and will join All Bar One, and Marriott Hotels.
With plans to open next summer, the 70-cover venture will provide customers with a choice of more than thirty flavours of ice cream, plus a growing range of chocolate now produced in the £600k chocolate factory at the family’s Westertown Farm near Inverurie.
The firm hopes the combination of its produce from the farm, paired with artisan coffee and fresh local foods will eventually become a familiar fixture in many of Scotland’s towns and cities.
Karin Mackie, Marketing Director with Mackie’s of Scotland, said, “The last few years have seen us travel around the UK and further afield, including Italy and the United States to sample and experience some of the world’s best ice cream parlours and gelateria chocolatiers – and we are looking forward to bringing all we have learned to Aberdeen.
“Our developments in chocolate and ongoing experimentation with new ice cream flavour combinations mean that we are particularly excited to have taken one of the new retail units, which will contain a range of new and familiar products from Mackie's.
'We are proud of our North East heritage and we will work hard to make this a real positive addition to the centre of Aberdeen. We are very much viewing this as the next chapter for the business and want to create the flagship branch in our home city.'
The transformational Marischal Square development is led by Muse Developments, Aberdeen City Council and Aviva Investors.
Aberdeen City Council Deputy Leader Councillor Marie Boulton said: “It is fantastic that Mackies, which is one of the best-known food and drink companies from the north-east, is opening up its first café in the Marischal Square development.
“We want to attract prestigious brands to Marischal Square so having Mackies which is a truly home-grown success and is now a country-wide name is a brilliant first to have.”
Muse Regional Director for Scotland, Steve Turner, said, “We are delighted to have another major and iconic North-east brand name join the list of occupiers at Marischal Square. The Mackie’s plans are exciting, innovative and exactly the kind of business proposition we are looking to bring to the project.
“The ambition from day one was to make Marischal Square work for all involved and deliver a transformational development which would provide significant employment and business opportunities for this vital city centre area. As part of the wider City Centre Masterplan ambitions, this is another important deal which will deliver against those ambitions.”
Marischal Square will deliver: seven restaurants and cafe bars occupying 28,000 sq ft of ground floor space, 126-room Residence Inn by Marriott, and two office buildings. It will also offer Modern civic space around a rejuvenated Provost Skene’s House.