Friday July 24th 2026
A mock-up of a proposed Blank Street Coffee on Buchanan Street (image from plans submitted to Glasgow City Council by Blank Street Coffee)
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Drew Sandelands
A popular American coffee chain is planning to open a new venue on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street.
Huge queues welcomed the opening of Blank Street Coffee’s current cafés on Gordon Street and Byres Road.
And now the firm is hoping to create a third Glasgow premises in a prime city centre location.
It has applied to Glasgow City Council for a certificate of proposed lawful use, which will determine whether the café use would be lawful or planning permission is required.
The application, for 164A Buchanan Street, states the unit was last operated by footwear shop Dune.
It adds there would be a “large area of internal seating”, with 25 covers, with the “primary use involving sale of hot drinks for consumption on the premises”.
Council planners are currently assessing the application and September 18 has been set as a target date for a decision.
Blank Street opened its second Glasgow venue on the corner of Byres Road and Ruthven Street last year, despite a bid for planning permission being rejected by the council.
At the time, the chain said the café was “rightfully operating” under the “previous tenant’s use” — which differed from the use requested in its recent planning application.
The council’s planning system shows an alleged unauthorised change of use was investigated in May last year but no breach was found and the case was closed without any action being taken.
Founded in New York in 2020, Blank Street Coffee has expanded into the UK with cafés in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh as well as Glasgow.
It is known for its signature matcha, as well as its coffee, and has proven popular with younger generations, which partly stems from social media platforms like TikTok.
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