A whisky and brands sandwich with little filling - Kevin Buckle

Good news this week that the Johnnie Walker Centre will open on Monday, 6 September. While it is good news simply that it is opening it is also good news for those keen to see how the city centre is reshaped in a post-Covid, post-St James world.

Hopes are high for the new Johnnie Walker visitor centre, which opens next month in the old Frasers building Johnnie Walker new visitor centre, Princes Street, Edinburgh

The current state of the city centre is something that could have been predicted a long time ago and a lot has been put on the opening of the St James Quarter and the Johnnie Walker Centre to help put things right. The latter can only help while the St James may have in retrospect caused more problems than it will solve but at least with both open there can be no more excuses and things will be whatever they are.

I fear we will hear a lot about improved footfall in the West End which of course will mean nothing to the businesses there if it is not met with increased spending. Hopefully there will be an honest appraisal of spending which in these days of post-pandemic recovery has never been more important.

One thing that does concern me is that neither centre is particularly family friendly. I’ve had more families in the shop in the last week or two than I’ve ever had since moving to Waverley Mall and it has been great for business as parents indulge their children with T-shirts and music.

As has always been the case wherever Avalanche has been based I’m asked if I can recommend other places to visit. I always say the SJQ is worth a visit given how close by it is but to be honest I’m never optimistic that the families that ask will find much for them – unless there is a Lego fan amongst them.

While the older children will normally find a £15 T-shirt or a £20 record within their budget I’m not sure the St James will have much they can afford. We do of course get a lot of young couples in the shop and in their case I’m far more optimistic.

Certainly there are even fewer customers I would recommend the Johnnie Walker Centre too though I’m certain it will be popular with the tourists that frequent the tartan tat shops and we all know how well they do.

I’m well aware how lucky Avalanche is to have a base in the Waverley Mall and have things to offer that appeal to nearly all ages but in particular I fear for the Old Town with no BID (Business Improvement District) for support and evidence so far that those visitors that have arrived up to now don’t venture as far as they used to. At least my old haunt the Grassmarket was built for these times with its wide spaces, unlike Rose Street which is suffering badly.

Hopefully with both centres open at either end of Princes Street there will be no more excuses and those in a position to do so will start to fill in the gaps to reach those not attracted by whisky and brands. Whether that happens is a different matter and I fear that we will next be told to wait for Christmas and see how that goes.