Edinburgh has welcomed a new queer grocery store in the city, offering items such as a pick n mix for dried fruit & nuts and fresh fruit and vegetables.
Located on Ferry Road, near Leith, The Gull's Grocery is being run by duo Luna and Em, offering an affordable and sustainable option for locals, with recycling and plastic-free being a common theme throughout.
Opening for their first day last Friday, February 11, Luna and Em have expressed their excitement for their new business venture and have been overwhelmed by the support shown already.
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Luna and Em, both aged 30, used to work together in retail and had a long-standing joke that one day, they would open their own business to improve all of the factors they hated about their current job.
Luna, from Portobello, said: "Me and Em have known each other for years after working in retail. We instantly just hit it off and became friends and have always had a long-running joke of owning our own business."
After being left briefly unemployed during the pandemic, Luna and Em just decided to go for it one day and search for their own building to transform into an affordable and sustainable model.
"We used to actually go past the shop and joke about owning it, just because we knew the area and were familiar with the previous shop. Rather surprisingly, it just happened to be available when we were looking for a place, we said it must be fate and took it.
"We have both actually worked in places that we couldn't afford to shop in, rather ironically. Our main mission for Gull's was to focus on as little plastic as possible and not make luxury items and snacks expensive.
"We offer refills on things such as washing up liquid and fabric softener, with the addition of reusable glass bottles which actually saves people money on paying for the packaging they typically come in."
Luna and Em are currently the only two employees at Gull's, with no plans to expand and make their business into a chain, the main goal is to give something back and also make sure that members of the LGBTQ+ community feel safe in their shop.
As well as refillable options, they also sell fresh bread, as well as sweet options like chocolate, sweets and crisps.
Luna, who has struggled with affording food in the past, said that tackling the issue of healthy food being more expensive than your average junk food is also a main priority.
They continued: "Everything in the store is at least vegetarian, with some vegan. I've been a vegetarian for a long time and it can be expensive buying snacks and ingredients.
They also added that the support within the first few days of opening has been incredible.
"The support has honestly been amazing and overwhelming. People have walked past and come in just to say hi and we're so happy you're open, we've even had people waving in their car as they drive by.
"It's, so far, exceeded all our expectations and gone beyond what we imagined. Having a community responding positively to us opening is actually a dream come true."
As Luna and Em represent the LGBTQ+ community, the shop has been referred to as a queer grocery store, with the duo embracing this.
Luna continued to say that during the pandemic, a lot of people within the LGBTQ+ community suffered with exclusion and insecurity, including that as a member of that community, a problem in the workplace is always around the corner waiting to surprise you and not for good reasons.
They added: "I was lightly involved in queer mutual aid and it inspirational, it was a spirit I wanted to bring and to help the community.
"We are a non-profit organisation, everything we earn goes back into the store. It took three months of renovating and decorating ourselves and to be honest, there was a time where we did have doubts that this was ever going to happen.
"Em has basically lived near Leith her whole life and this would not have been possible without them. They are just the kindest, sweetest person in the world and they also know the social aspect of the business inside out, what the local community will enjoy and what they won't."
