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.
04:16So thank you very much.
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