An Edinburgh institution which has been serving locals for more than four decades has announced it will close its door for the final time this summer.
Ali’s Cave is one of the capital’s largest independent stores and is a one stop shop for household, DIY and seasonal products. The family-run business arrived at Lothian Road in 1988 and has been a familiar sight to anyone that has lived in the capital since.
00:00An Edinburgh institution, which has been serving locals for more than four decades, has announced it will close its doors for the final time this summer.
00:09Alley's Cave is one of the capital's largest independent stores.
00:13With the one-stop shop being a familiar sight on Lothian Road since it opened in 1988,
00:19but with recent years seeing a decline in footfall, owing to changes in shopping habits and neighbouring offices relocating to other parts of the city,
00:27the owners behind the flagship store have made the difficult decision to close in August.
00:31We have lots of regulars over the years, you know, and they're still around.
00:36Some have unfortunately passed away, but, and they have made my life as well, you know, fulfilling.
00:46We wanted to provide a service for the local community,
00:52so they wouldn't, so we could try and help them as much with all the products that they need for everyday use.
01:00We never really concentrated on going into the very cheap quality stuff.
01:06We try to provide value for money.
01:11I think, for me, coming in throughout my whole life, there will be about half a dozen people who have probably seen me completely grow up from here,
01:19from being, I went into nursery around the corner in Tall Cross Nursery,
01:23so there's probably people who have been in the shop who have seen me grow from about five, six years old to 43.
01:30And we still have people who come in now.
01:33We have a lady called Charlotte, she's 104 years old, she's lived in Grinsey Street her whole life.
01:38So, yeah, we know a lot of regulars.
01:41They become a part of the fabric to us, part of our family.
01:45The banter and rapport you have with the elderly is fantastic.
01:50And whilst we speak to a lot of people every day, we might be the only people they speak to every day.
01:58So we always make them feel special.
02:00I think it's very important.
02:02I think that's why a lot of our customers keep coming back to us.
02:05But recently, due to the downturn in office workers coming in,
02:11with Standard Life being closed at the moment, with Aberdeen Asset being closed,
02:14and I think it's getting refurbished to a hotel, with Capital House becoming a premier inn,
02:19there's a lot of empty offices in Edinburgh's financial hub at the moment.
02:24The last couple of years, it's just helped us decide that having a bricks and mortar store just wasn't worthwhile anymore.
02:33Business trends have changed.
02:38The customer flow has decreased into city centre.
02:45We depend a lot on office workers.
02:47I think that's the same for a lot of the trade in this area and city centre,
02:52with it being the financial district, Edinburgh.
02:57So with them only, with the office workers only coming in for two days a week,
03:03that has made it difficult for us to survive.
03:10It is an emotional time, but everything moves on, I suppose.
03:18Life changes and you've got to move on.
03:21I think we'll be putting up the signs at the end of this week.
03:24So hopefully, well, hopefully next Monday we'll be fully announcing to everybody.
03:27We've not even told our extended family yet.
03:30So as of Monday next week, we'll fully be reducing all of our stock and there'll be a sale on,
03:36and everything will be 50% off.
03:38I would like to say thank you to all our customers for the support they have given us over the years.
03:46It has been appreciated and it is with a sad heart that we're having to close the doors.
03:52Thank you very much for all the support over the years.
03:55I think you've made our small family feel very appreciated.
03:59And we've enjoyed what we've done from my grandfather to my father and to myself
04:04and to all the family members who have helped out in the shop.
04:08We have made so many friends.
04:10I think we've been very fortunate.
04:12A small business who's built so many relationships throughout the community.
