A board game cafe is moving out of Dundee’s Keiller Centre after less than six months.
Cake or Dice, run by Brechin mums Laura Stevenson and Emma Barry, combines their love of board games and good food.
After initially hoping to open their café on Murraygate, they opened at the Keiller Centre in June this year.
However, just months later, they are on the lookout for a new home.
Keiller Centre issues behind Cake or Dice decision to move
Laura said issues with the Keiller Centre prompted the decision.
She said: “The centre needs a lot of investment and unfortunately that’s meant we’ve incurred huge losses.
“We lost the weekend before Storm Babet to flooding in the kitchen.
“There’s quite a lot of work we’d need to do – all the electrics need replacing and that itself is a big job.
“We can’t afford to invest massive amounts of money into the infrastructure.”
Keiller Centre bosses ‘disappointed’
Donna Holford-Lovell and Kathryn Rattray took over the management of the centre in May.
Donna has since stepped away, leaving Kathryn in charge. She has previously described plans to make the Keiller Centre great again.
Kathryn said recent storms and heavy rain had caused leaks in the Cake or Dice unit – and others in the centre – but said these were addressed “promptly”.
She added: “We are disappointed to see Cake or Dice leave The Keiller Centre.
“We wish them all the best in the future and hope that they can continue to serve their customers and the community network they have built during their time here.”
Earlier this year, the centre was branded “low quality” in a report commissioned by Dundee City Council.
The report described the building as “low quality and poor format”.
It added the Keiller Centre would be “unlikely to be capable of accommodating significant retailing in the longer term without redevelopment.”
No regrets and plans for new home
While Cake or Dice prepares to end its six-month stay in the centre, Laura said she has no regrets.
She added: “Hindsight is 20/20 but it was a good starting place for us. We’ve invested a huge amount of money into this place but it’s really allowed us to build such an amazing community.
“We have learned so much in the months we’ve been here.”
Cake or Dice is in discussions with Dundee City Council about a new home.
Laura added: “We need somewhere that is a bit better suited to our needs and to the needs of our community.
“There’s one site we’re desperately looking at, but we’re still in negotiations with the council.”
Conversation