Renowned for its quality, the Rankin brand sold a mixture of home-grown produce and exotic items, imported from all over the globe.With branches in Princes Street, the West End, Tollcross, Corstorphine, Leith, and as far afield as Musselburgh, their shops were all over the place in the 1950s and ‘60s, before a rise in car ownership and supermarkets saw profits take a hit towards the end of the century.
The business was sold in 1985, but memories of the much-loved greengrocer chain remain strong decades later.
9. Last day of the old fruit market
The Edinburgh Fruit Market at Market Street, Edinburgh, on the last day before it transferred to Gorgie. A Rankin's lorry is pictured. Photo: Denis Straughan
10. Gorgie fruit market 1983
A Rankins forklift loads onions on to their lorry at Gorgie fruit market in Chesser Avenue Edinburgh, August 1983. Photo: Jack Crombie
11. Newington
Traffic and shops in Clerk Street Newington, Edinburgh, in January 1968. Rankin's had a fruit shop at St Patrick Square. Photo: Joe Steele
12. Staff reunion 2019
Staff reunited after more than 30 years at Ryan's Bar. Photo: Contributed