Edinburgh cafes: Locals baffled as Christmas decorations appear in 'ghost' cafe closed for years

A mysterious ‘ghost’ cafe that has been closed for years has left locals baffled, after Christmas decorations appeared in the window.

The Main Street Beanery in Fountainbridge is decked out with a festive display but locals and passers by say no customers have been inside the ‘pristine’ cafe since it stopped serving four years ago.

It opened in 2019 as Main Street Beanery and traded for a few months with reviewers describing it as having erratic opening hours. Locals have been left scratching their

Photo: Jolene Campbell

heads ever since. Now, for the second year, festive decorations and lights have been put up on table pieces and behind the counter.

One woman who lives near the cafe told the Evening News: “I remember seeing it open before the pandemic. They seemed to close not long after opening, later in the summer of 2019. I think it’s been closed since then. The lights are still on sometimes. It’s strange because electricity and rent costs money so I don't know how are they paying if there's no trading cafe.

“Christmas decorations went up last year and now they have appeared again. It’s bizarre. I saw a man lock up once but that’s the only activity. No customers have gone in or out for years. I looked inside and they’ve got all the modern coffee machines inside. It looks so well-kept.”

Edinburgh resident Chris Dobson posted on X: “This place at the corner of Fountainbridge and Gilmore Park is such an enigma. Never open but remains fully equipped and clean, and now with added Christmas decorations. Anyone know what the deal is?”

Photo: Jolene Campbell

One local branded it a ‘ghost cafe’. He said: “It was open for a few brief months about five years ago, and I visited once. Since then, I've been fascinated every time I pass. And each year the Christmas decorations go up. My wife and I have designated it a ghost cafe, as it's the only logical explanation.”

Another local resident on a community forum said: “I have been wondering about this place for months now since I moved to the area. Was half tempted to post a note on the door asking "are you ever open?" as I couldn't find much at all about them online.

“I mean I would rather have a closed and decent looking store front rather than somewhere boarded up and abandoned. But the place is kept in such a pristine and functioning condition that there has to be a reason behind it.”

The Main Street Beanery registered as a company in July 2019 and within a month had changed it’s registered address from Foutainbridge to Rutland Square. There’s no website or social media and no online reviews after 2019.

Owners used to run Crusts, a sandwich shop in Fountainbridge. But it shut its doors following an explosion and is listed on Google as ‘temporarily closed’.

Responding to a review on Google the owner said: “Sadly we were unable to say goodbye and thank all of our customers who supported us over many years. We hope the building will be rebuilt in the near future. Best wishes Karen and Maureen.”

Owners of Main Street Beanery have been approached for comment.