Latest news with #AdnanUlhaq
The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
Ali's Cave set to shut doors in Edinburgh after 40 years
Ali's Cave, one of Edinburgh's largest independent household shops, will close in August, the owners have announced on social media. The shop first opened in South Bridge in 1981, before moving to a larger unit on Lothian Road in 1988. READ MORE: Poundland 'to close 100 stores' after being sold for £1 The news was announced by father-son duo Anwar and Adnan Ulhaq on Facebook, who said: "With great sadness we have some big news to share. Ali's Cave will be saying farewell and closing its doors permanently as of August. "We want to say a big thank you to the city of Edinburgh for supporting us. A heartfelt thank you to all our customers who have continued to visit our store over the years. "Ali's Cave has been serving Edinburgh for over 44 years. We've loved the community around us, the local businesses, the students and the tourists alike. "Thank you all for backing us, here's to the end of a very fulfilling chapter. We hope to see some familiar friendly faces pop by before we shut permanently. "A heartfelt farewell from all the family at Ali's Cave." READ MORE: Scottish abattoir shuts doors after 100 years with 90 jobs lost Locals responded with sadness to the news, as one person wrote: "I just need to give a word of tribute to this shop. This was the one place close to where I lived, where I could buy the items I needed before closing time, to help me get back into my flat: sellotape, magnets, string and something else; I was able to fashion a fishing rod, put it through my letterbox and fish up the keys from the floor. (It's a long story.) Thank you so much!" Another person wrote: "You will be so missed. You have played a big part in Edinburgh for so long. Wishing you all the very best." And another person said: "Acht, now this is so sad. I came to Edinburgh in 1995 and your shop has been my go to since then. Everyone knows Ali's cave. What wonderful staff you have, always happy, always ready to help. Your shop has Everything! I was just in the other day for something. I knew you'd have it and you did. You're going to be so very missed."
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Family-run shop in major Scots city set to close down after 40 years as locals left gutted
Locals have been left gutted after the closure was announced CLOSING TIME Family-run shop in major Scots city set to close down after 40 years as locals left gutted Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A FAMILY-RUN Scottish store is set to close its doors for the final time after 40 years in business. Ali's Cave located on Edinburgh's Lothian Road will pull the shutters down in August. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Ali's Cave on Edinburgh's Lothian Road is set to close after 40 years in business Credit: Google Father and son duo Anwar and Adnan Ulhaq announced the news on social media last night. The shop is one of Edinburgh's largest independent household stores. And the family have been serving serving locals, students and tourists for over 44 years. The Facebook post read: "With great sadness we have some big news to share. "Ali's Cave will be saying farewell and closing its doors permanently as of August. "We want to say a big thank you to the city of Edinburgh for supporting us. "A heartfelt thank you to all our customers who have continued to visit our store over the years. "Ali's Cave has been serving Edinburgh for over 44 years. "We've loved the community around us, the local businesses, the students and the tourists alike. "Thank you all for backing us, here's to the end of a very fulfilling chapter. Final sales begin as popular clothing brand closes all stores leaving 'devastated' shoppers scrambling for alternative "We hope to see some familiar friendly faces pop by before we shut permanently. "A heartfelt farewell from all the family at Ali's Cave." Locals were left gutted by the news and flocked to the comments to share their messages to the owners. One person said: "Amazing shop, you could buy everything that you needed. It will be a great loss." Another wrote: "Aw, I'm sorry to hear it's shutting. I've bought so many things from Ali's Cave over the years. Useful stuff and lovely staff." A third commented: "An Edinburgh legend! Congrats on all you've achieved. Wishing you all the best in your next chapter." While a fourth added: "This is devastating! We will miss you so much."
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Edinburgh institution Ali's Cave to close after 44 years
An 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. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 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. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Father and son, Anwar and Adnan Ulhaq have announced their legendary Edinburgh shop, Ali's Cave will close in the summer | NW 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.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 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. Ali's Cave first opened in Edinburgh's South Bridge in 1981. The shop name derived fro Anwar's father's name, Ahmed Ali 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. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad '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. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 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.'
