Is Edinburgh Black Sheeped out?

Black Sheep Coffee has recently announced plans to open a 12th branch in Edinburgh on Forrest Road.

Their most recent opening is on Bruntsfield Place, which opened in December, replacing a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

This prompted backlash from local, independent business owners in the area, including Olivia Kekewich, assistant manager at the independent Edinburgh Bookshop on Bruntsfield Place.

The chains Lothian Road branch

“We don’t actually think it’s necessary, in this area, there are so many local businesses. So many of those are cafes and coffee shops, that will obviously be affected by it – and we’re in such a community-based area, local businesses support other local businesses.”

There were also concerns about the coffee shop replacing a bank branch, a service that is relied upon particularly by older people who may not be accustomed to using online banking.

Ms Kekewich continued: “Every time a bank closes, banks are going to online services, and there are a lot of disabled and older people who cannot use these facilities.”

This new opening on Forrest Road will be a mere 10-minute walk from the location on North Bridge, which begs the question – do we really need another Black Sheep Coffee?

The chain has the slogan ‘Leave the Herd Behind’, a phrase that suggests nonconformity and individuality, when in reality, it operates a concentrated number of near-identical branches, and continues to expand aggressively into mainstream areas of cities, including Edinburgh.

The number of coffee shops in the UK is on the rise, growing 2.4 per cent in the first nine months up to September 2025.

However, it’s not simply that the demand for coffee shops is increasing, rather, it is the niche market of speciality coffee shops that is booming across the country.

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Black Sheep is one example, while Blank Street, known for its matcha, is also rapidly expanding in Edinburgh with two locations and counting.

While these speciality shops continue to flourish, mass-market chains like Costa are struggling. Costa is losing branches every year, and owner Coca-Cola had to put plans to sell on hold, due to low bids.

Although firms like Blank Street and Black Sheep are achieving success in Edinburgh and countrywide, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the number of independent coffee shops is still rising year on year.

However high streets, like Princes Street, still primarily only have chains. This means that independent coffee shops still don’t get as much footfall, and perhaps don’t get as much business from Edinburgh’s tourists.

Black Sheep Coffee does offer a 20 per cent discount for students, and a £2 deal on selected drinks on Mondays, which definitely contributes to their popularity. This is a much less common feature amongst independent businesses, which might help to explain why they don’t achieve the same booming success as chains. \

You never know what hidden gems you’ll find in Edinburgh’s local coffee shops…

Stockbridge is an area of Edinburgh that is particularly lauded for its variety of independent coffee shop options, and, as of yet, there isn’t a Black Sheep in sight.

In a city as small as Edinburgh, having 12 branches of a single coffee chain does not go unnoticed. I’ve never seen a queue out the door at any Black Sheep, so I struggle to believe that the demand is high enough to justify a new opening every few months.

Each new branch announcement brings fresh complaints from independent businesses and locals alike, but it remains unlikely that this will have any impact on the company’s decision to continue rapidly expanding across the city.