My shop Ali's Cave has been serving customers in Edinburgh for 44 years but now it is time to say goodbye

Ali’s Cave is one of the Scottish 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.

But with recent years seeing a decline in footfall owing to changes to shopping habits and neighbouring offices relocating to different parts of the city, the owners behind one of Lothian Road’s flagship shops have made the difficult decision to close in August.

Father and son, Anwar and Adnan Ulhaq have announced their legendary Edinburgh shop, Ali’s Cave will close in the summer | NW

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Speaking to the Evening News, Anwar Ulhaq, who founded the business with his brothers, said: “It is with a sad heart that we’re having to close the doors.

“I’ll miss coming in and seeing regular faces and this will be an emotional time, but everything moves on I suppose. Life changes and you've got to move on, but I will miss the conversations with the customers.

“Business trends have changed and the customer flow has decreased in the city centre. We used to depend a lot on office workers and I think that's the same for a lot of the trade in this area in city. But with fewer workers coming into the financial district, that has made it difficult for us to survive.”

The family opened their first Edinburgh shop in South Bridge in 1981, before relocating to a larger venue in Lothian Road seven years later, where it became one of the city’s most well-known shops.

Exterior of the Ali's Cave discount store on Edinburgh's South Bridge, June 1985.

Recalling the early days at South Bridge, the 67-year-old said: “We wanted to provide a service for the local community so we could help them as much with all the products that they need for everyday use. We tried to provide value for money.

“We were so successful at Southbridge we thought we needed another unit and Lothian Road looked like the right site. Lothian Road was a lot quieter at that time - Earl Grey Street was mostly empty apart from Goldbergs at the back - but it was still good enough to trade and it got a lot busier later on.”

Anwar’s son and fellow co-owner, Adnan Ulhaq, said: “I always wanted to carry on our family business because this shop has meant so much to so many people and means so much to our family.

“We know a lot of regulars, including one lady called Charlotte who is 104 years-old and has lived in Grindlay Street her whole life. Customers like her become a part of the fabric to us and part of our family.

“The banter and rapport we have with the elderly is fantastic because while we may speak to a lot of people every day, we might be the only people they speak to every day so we always make them feel special. I think it's very important and I think that's why a lot of our customers keep coming back to us.

“The strength of Ali's Cave has seen us survive the recession in the 1980s, the 2008 crisis and Covid - we were always able to act very quickly on what our customers wanted. But due to the downturn in office workers coming in, with Standard Life being closed at the moment, with Aberdeen Asset being closed, with Capital House becoming a Premier Inn - there's a lot of empty offices in Edinburgh's financial hub at the moment. I think that has played a part in helping us make the decision to close down.

Ali’s Cave is set to close in early August, with the popular shop offering a 50 per cent discount on all products starting next week.

Sharing a final message to their loyal customers, Adnan said: “Thank you very much for all the support over the years. You've made a small family feel very appreciated. As a small business we feel very fortunate to have built so many relationships throughout the community.”