The Wallace Tower in Seaton Park has re-opened as a community-led café, operated by the Liberty Kitchen. Situated on the west side of the park, the café can be accessed by Tillydrone Road or through The Chanonry, offering a convenient spot for students to relax and study.
Whilst the café provides an exciting new option for those in the Old Aberdeen area, the building also deserves a special mention. The Wallace Tower was built at Netherkirkgate in the centre of Aberdeen, around the early 1600s. It was built by Sir Robert Keith of Benholm as a lodging for when he visited the city from his Aberdeenshire estate.
Over time, the city grew around the tower and in the late 1960s, it was relocated brick-by-brick to Seaton Park to make way for the new Marks and Spencer store next to Bon Accord at the expense of Lord Marks. From there, it was used occasionally before laying derelict for 27 years.
As reported by The Press and Journal in 2024, the Tillydrone Community Development Trust (TCDT) have been pushing for the building to be reopened since 2009 and raised over £800,000 for remodelling work on the tower and to add a modern extension.
And now that the TCDT have completed their refurbishment project, Liberty Kitchen- which has also operated in Banchory and Greyhope Bay- have moved in to provide drinks, bakes, and lunches from Wednesday to Sunday in the bright and airy extension.
Nikki Leys, who owns Liberty Kitchen, reflects on the first few months of service and is excited to welcome students to the café.
She said: “We were concerned about opening in the middle of winter, but the community have been really supportive and kept us busy through the bad weather.
“Even when it was snowing and the city was at standstill people came to get out of the house and we’ve really appreciated the response from locals.
“The Wallace Tower has been an exciting project so many of our visitors also come from throughout the city and we’re seeing students come now that the semester has started.
“We’ve got lots of space, WiFi, a loyalty card and friendly staff who hope to see more students visit.”
Liberty Kitchen joins Kilau, Shetler, Grub, Foodstory and Union Brew as options for students to visit in the vicinity of the Old Aberdeen campus but its location primarily benefits the Tillydrone community and Nikki is pleased to see the locals engaging with the facility.
Nikki added: “Liberty Kitchen gives people in the Tillydrone area a place to meet and socialise. It’s brought the community together and we can host smaller groups and are looking to feature local artists and musicians in the coming months.
“I’ve been running Liberty Kitchen for nine years now, and what brings me most joy is to see the community engaging with the project and benefitting from what we offer.
“The feedback so far has been really encouraging, and it motives us to keep working to enrich the local area.”