A tiny shop on Leith Walk is being restored to its ‘former glory’, after years of mystery.
The Wee Leith Shop, at 340 Leith Walk, had sat empty for over a decade before the owners of the Dreadnought pub in North Fort Street took it on.
Now, following a major restoration, the pint-sized premises will be selling local beers. Updating locals on their Twitter account, the Wee Leith Shop said: “When we took on The Wee Leith Shop, we were determined that any work we did on it would only be to restore it to its former glory.
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“This included keeping the name and restoring the sign to reflect the original. I had seen the work of Journeyman Signs (look him up on Instagram) and knew that he was the man for the job.
“I couldn’t be happier with what a great job he’s done on our new hand painted sign. The shop remains closed while we navigate various paperwork nightmares and unexpected obstacles with the restoration process.
“Meanwhile, please enjoy our beautiful new sign when you’re passing and we’re looking forward to throwing open the doors ASAP.”
When they do open, the Wee Leith Shop will bring ‘quality local beers from an iconic Leith Walk premises.’ The previous owners of The Wee Leith Shop were adamant to sell to someone willing to give the same love back to the community as they previously had.
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Dreadnought owner Toby Saltonstall had to write a letter with his proposition for the shop to be made into an off license to the current owners to be accepted.
He said: "We had our eyes on the shop for a while but it was a bit of a mystery as to who owned it, and then it came up on the market.
"The lady who owned it wanted to make sure the new owners would keep all the original features the same. We had to write a letter to her saying what we had planned for the space as we agreed that we would keep the original features including the name of the shop.”
Before the shop closed in 2008, owner Celia had run a business there for over 20 years - which was known in the area as more of a ‘community support’ shop for people to come in and have a chat. When her husband fell ill, Celia closed the shop.
She planned on reopening one day, but her own health took a turn and she decided it was time to sell.
You can keep up with the Wee Leith Shop and find out more here.
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