Wallace’s pie shop a city institution for generations of folk

LAST month the Tele looked back at some of Dundee’s favourite long-lost eateries and asked readers if there were any others they’d like to remember.

One name came up repeatedly – Wallace’s. So we’ve dug through our archives and caught up with some former staff and customers to talk about those famous and unforgettable pehs.

MOUTH-watering bridies, pies and sausage rolls were the items that kept keen customers coming back for more at Wallace’s The Auld Dundee Pie Shop back in the day.

The business, which was started by David Wallace in the late 19th Century, became a household name in the city until its closure in the 1970s.

Originally located in The Vault under the Caird Hall, an area which now houses restaurants such as St Andrews Brewing Company, the business moved to a site on Castle Street in the ’20s.

Former staff member Rosie Smart – then Brown – fondly recalls her time spent working there.

Now 60 and living in Monifieth, Rosie remembers finishing school aged 15 one day and starting her new role the very next.

She only worked there for a year, alongside sister Lisa, before its closure, but Rosie said if it had been open to this day she “probably would have still worked there”.

With an estimated staff of 50 who worked across the kitchen, the front shop and the adjoining restaurant (including two executive wings in the back offering highclass service), Rosie remembers it as a “very good place to work”.

“There was never anybody that didn’t like working there,” she said. “You cannot say one bad thing about Wallace’s.

“It was well-known for the pies, bridies and sausage rolls. It was lovely, it was the best pie shop in Dundee. I used to serve all the window cleaners, that’s how I remember it. You had your favourite customers that came in all the time.

“Every day was busy but I used to serve the window cleaners every day with their breakfast.

“They were a nice bunch of chaps and they always had the breakfast – a pot of tea and toast and things like that.”

Rosie, who vividly remembers her uniform of a black jumper, skirt, tights and shoes and an apron, said the pie, chips and beans were her pick from the Wallace’s menu – and that is a sentiment echoed by other Tele readers.

Alan Gray Sr described the eatery’s steak pie, chips and peas as “the business”.

Other popular offerings included braised steak, cabbage and potatoes, mince and tatties and home-made soup.

And of course, their cakes.

“It was a very, very good highclass tearoom. You couldn’t fault it,” said Rosie.

Founder Mr Wallace’s brother, Andrew, was equally successful in his foodie venture, Wallace Land o’ Cakes (formerly Wallace Family Bakers).

With a head office in Stobswell and a number of other shops around the city, this bakery and pie shop held a very special place in the hearts of many Dundonians. Perhaps most notably, Dal Chima.

The 65-year-old, who now lives in Longforgan, remembers a time around 1962 aged seven when he and his nine-year-old brother Paul would visit the Crichton Street branch.

“I was the first Indian child born in Dundee and my brother the first Indian child in Dundee.

“I say this not as some form of self-promotion but merely to point out that we were most likely the first Indians in the whole world to be introduced to the Dundee institution that is Wallace’s Land o’ Cakes,” said Dal.

“My parents ran a clothing and general store in Dundee and we had a childminder who looked after us on a Saturday while my parents ran the busy city centre shop.

“The childminder was a family friend of ours and became affectionately known to us as Auntie Grace.

“Every Saturday morning Auntie Grace would pick us up from the shop in the morning and would do her shopping, culminating in a visit to Wallace’s on Crichton Street to purchase our obligatory onion bridies.

“For my brother and I, it had to be an onion one, and never the plain.

“The plain bridie had one hole in the top and the ‘ingin anes’ had two holes to differentiate and ensure you were not disappointed when you got home and realised that you had got a plain instead of an onion one.

“Occasionally we would visit the restaurant on Crichton Street for a sit-in which was something of a treat.”

Dal’s love affair with Wallace’s continued as he made the transition from primary to secondary school, attending Morgan Academy from