Workshop helping give Union Street’s golden boot a new lease of life

The historic boot has hung outside 263 Union Street, now the Gidi Grill restaurant, for more than 100 years.

By Ellie Milne

June 3 2023, 6:00 am

Roberts Reimanis working on the boot at the SIR Joinery workshop in Balmedie. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

If you walked along Union Street lately you may have noticed a certain historic feature had gone walkabout.

The golden boot which hangs above the entrance to Gidi Grill at 263 Union Street was temporarily relocated to an Aberdeenshire workshop.

Described as one of the street’s “favourite icons”, the boot has called Milne and Munro and Jones bootmakers home over the past century.

Roberts sanding down the Union Street boot — The boot has been stripped of all paint and sanded down. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

The unit lay empty for four years before the West African restaurant moved in last November.

Earlier this year, owner Mobalaji Adeniyi shared his plans to revamp the front of the restaurant, which included giving the historic boot a makeover.

Intricate work

The original wood thistle and a sketch of the new design — The designs for the thistle to be added to the front of the boot. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

The iconic feature was revamped at SIR Joinery in Balmedie with specialist carpenter Roberts Reimanis, from Latvia, taking the lead on the intricate work.

Workshop supervisor Warren Stuart said if anything comes into the workshop that requires intricate hand carving “it will end up on Roberts’s table”.

The plans to give the boot a new lease of life include stripping the wood of all paint and sanding it back to bare.

The carpenter, who has worked at the company for five years, has also had to create a new heel and craft an intricate thistle to be fixed onto the front.

Roberts standing at a workshop table with his tools — Roberts Reimanis has worked at SIR Joinery for the past five years. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

“When it arrived at the workshop, it was almost falling apart,” Mr Reimanis said. “There were four big bits stuck together to make up the boot.

“I had to replace the heel because it was rotten and not fixable, and carve the thistle on the top of the boot which will be added back on when it is all done.

“I will personally glue it back together and get it to the sanding stage. We’re still in discussions with the owner about the the paint and colours, but that will be the next stage.”