From Produce to Pints: Aikmans in St Andrews- What does the name really mean?

Aikman’s Bar~Bistro, known colloquially as ‘Aikman’s’ or simply ‘Aik’s’, is undoubtedly a St Andrews institution. Yet, those who’ve tried Aikmans’ oddly extensive menu may be surprised to learn that the name once belonged to a grocer’s shop. Since then, it’s been both a wine bar and a pub, eventually taking its current form as a bistro and bar. 

According to the St Andrews Heritage Museum and Garden, Andrew Aikman founded a traditional grocer called “Aikman” in 1837 at 165 South Street, where the clothing shop Ostara now sits. It served luxury goods, including tea, coffee beans, sugar, spices, and chocolate. 

The original store ran successfully enough that Aikman took on multiple apprentices who lived in flats above the warehouse, so they could work at a moment’s notice. On 18 November 1841, Aikman married Agnes Smith. During their marriage, they had a son, Andrew Aikman Jr, in 1846. The family stayed in the area until Smith’s death years later. Aikman Sr later remarried.

At fourteen, Aikman Jr left school and became an apprentice grocer with another young man named Thomas Terras. While both were apprenticed, Aikman Sr became quite involved with town affairs, including the Town Council, where, according to a 1894 newspaper clipping, he was known for his “flamboyant appearance,” involving a lapelled waistcoat, a tall top hat, a high wing collar, and a large bow in his cravat. 

Eventually, Aikman Sr retired at 52 and handed the business to his son. During this time, Terras left and took a job in Dundee briefly before returning to St Andrews upon being offered a partnership by Aikman Jr. The shop was renamed Aikman & Terras. 

Over the years, other grocers’ shops began to pop up in St Andrews. By the 1880s, there were ten grocer and wine merchant shops on South Street alone, with eighteen more throughout the town. 

Even after retirement, Aikman Sr remained a prominent figure in town, serving as a councillor and as chairman of the St Andrews Gas Company. In 1894, Aikman Sr died, survived by his widow, two daughters, and five sons.

Aikman Jr and Terras followed in Aikman Sr’s footsteps and became increasingly active in town while continuing to run the shop. They both became councillors, and Aikman Jr eventually became Provost, the head of the local council. 

Aikman Jr married in 1874 and enjoyed 52 years with his wife. Terras continued as a figurehead in town. In 1898, Terras retired, leaving  Aikman Jr to run the business alone. Terras became very involved with the St Andrews Water Supply, and one day on an inspection walk, he slipped on a plank and sustained injuries to his head. Initially thinking nothing of it, Terras later passed away due to the injury at 58. Aikman Jr continued running the business.

By the 1930s, Aikman Jr’s health had begun to decline, but he worked at the shop until just a fortnight before he died in 1932. The shop remained open as a grocer for almost another 50 years under a board of directors. In 1981, the building was sold as two separate retail shops: the South Street storefront went to Gorries Wools, and the Bell Street warehouse became a wine bar and restaurant, where the beloved pub sits today.

A plaque in the Heritage Museum reads “the smell of freshly roasted coffee is synonymous with Aikman & Terras for those who remember the shop.” The current owner of the premises, Barbara Ritchie, remembers the smell well. 

“When I was first a student here in the 70s, it was still a grocer shop, so we used to just wander in, because you could smell the coffee roasting,” Ritchie said. While the pub still has the Aikman name attached, little of the original grocer remains besides the bar’s location, which is where the shopping orders were prepared. 

Ritchie and her husband, Malcolm, bought the bar on 1 July, 1985. When they started, it was still a wine bar with a pub downstairs, but they soon decided it would be more successful as simply a pub. 

“It was originally called St Andrews Wine Bar, and then we changed the canopy outside and thought, well, it’s not really a wine bar anymore,” Ritchie said. “It would be more appropriate to call it Aikman’s after Aikman and Terras.”

For several years, Aikman’s ran as a bistro during the day and served a different menu in the evening. After a few years as a bistro-style restaurant, Ritchie had some friends come in and completely redo the design. They lengthened the bar while reducing its width, allowing customers to sit down. According to Ritchie, this instantly doubled their turnover. The change, combined with a late liquor license that allows the pub to sell liquor until 1 am on weekends, caused queues out the door. At one point, Ritchie herself had to stand outside and act as a bouncer, a role that allowed her to get to know the clientele. 

Ever since the original grocer shop closed, the Heritage Museum has maintained a display showcasing original pieces from the store. 

Samantha Walker, the museum’s manager and curator, said they refresh the collection quite regularly due to its considerable size.“It’s an interesting collection because it has some of the original furniture,” Walker said. “So we’ve got the counter, the original Victorian till, [and] some of the cabinets.” 

The last original member of the Aikman family left St Andrews around twenty years ago, Ritchie said. As far as she knows, there’re no Aikmans still living in town today. However, the name remains a pillar of the pub community, a popular place for students on a night out and the location of many shinty events. 

The community created in the pub over the years is still a huge part of the job for Ritchie, who now spends most of her shifts in the upper section of the building. “I realised it was the same people coming in; they were just coming in at different times,” Ritchie said. “It meant I could stand and talk to people on the doorstep.” 

Illustration by Beck Xu Ying