Dmytro Yurchenko ran his own coffee shop in Kyiv prior to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Named Deal and Chill, the 32-year-old adored interacting with regular customers and the connection you form with them. But last year, he relocated to Aberdeen due to the ongoing conflict.
His passion for hospitality remained, so Dmytro began devising a plan to set up shop in his new hometown.
Thus, teaming up with cousin Valentyn Tkach, Fearless Coffee was born.
‘Inspired by the Ukrainian struggle against Russia’
The concept for Fearless Coffee, located in the former Alexanders of Rosemount carpet shop on Rosemount Place, started in 2022.
The name is inspired by the Ukrainian struggle against the Russian invasion as well as the “fearless nature of locals in the north-east of Scotland”.
Dmytro and Valentyn, 30, received the keys to the premises in February and it has taken three months to transform.
“The shop has 18 covers with the premises being completely redone by us prior to opening to give it a modern yet cosy vibe,” adds Valentyn, whose parents were originally from Ukraine.
Valentyn grew up in the UK and went to school at Cults Academy before attending RGU.
The Cove local has experience in helping local businesses in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire with his work as an account manager at DC Thomson.
What can I order?
Fearless Coffee hosted a soft launch in mid May. It is open from 8.30am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 4pm on Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
In terms of the day-to-day team, head barista Dmytro is joined by two members of staff, while Valentyn is responsible for the back end operations and the management and supplier side of the business.
However, the joint directors are looking to hire additional staff as summer approaches.
Dmytro, who now resides in Kincorth, said: “We offer our coffee menu with usual favourites like lattes and flat whites.
“We use Cairngorm Coffee as our main supplier but we are looking to have more guest roasters starting very soon.
“And we have our ice machine arriving shortly which means we are going to launch our summer iced drink menu as well.”
Valentyn added: “In terms of food, Dmytro and I work with a variety of local suppliers with the main focus being cakes and tray bakes.
“Elena from The Crusty Slice BakeHouse in Peterculter helped us out on our launch weekend. We sold out of most of our food, but she came through with some lovely cinnamon buns that went down a treat.
“It was great to be welcomed by the local community in Rosemount at our soft launch. We can’t wait to meet the coffee lovers of Aberdeen and play a part in supporting the local food and drink scene.”
Fearless Coffee joins fellow Rosemount food and drink businesses Tarragon by Graham Mitchell, Koi Thai, Tucan and Gumblossom Bakeshop, to name a few.
Inside Fearless Coffee…
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