Rising food and energy bills are giving many capital households the chills as they face soaring inflation rates that are reminiscent of the 1970s.
And it was out of those lean times that an Edinburgh supermarket success story would sweep all before it to boast 65 stores nationwide by the late 1980s.
For over 20 years, Capital Foods was Edinburgh's number one frozen food specialist, selling everything from frozen meat, fish, vegetables, ready meals and desserts to chilled items, including milk, eggs, bacon, sausages, pies, pizzas, fruit and juices.
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The supermarket chain created many of its own bespoke products, but also stocked a number of well-known frozen food brands, such as Bernard Matthews, Birds Eye, Ross, Findus, and Lyons Maid.
But, most importantly, it carried a reputation for selling high-quality products at low-cost affordable prices.
Established in 1974 as the Capital Meat Centre, the business started out in premises at Seafield Road as a cash and carry service that sold frozen meat in bulk.
With more and more local households now owning larger fridge freezers, the chilled and frozen food concept quickly soared in popularity, and the Capital Meat Centre soon began to open its first self service supermarkets.
Branches in Hanover Street, Princes Street and Leith's Newkirkgate were joined by outlets in Morningside, Currie, Corstorphine, Tollcross and Newington, and, by the end of the 1970s, there was a barely an area of the city which didn’t bear the Capital Meat Centre’s distinctive red and navy blue striped branding.
The Edinburgh firm would also spread further afield. A 1981 advertisement for a new Capital Meat Centre store in Airdrie shows how the frozen food specialists were winning the battle for people’s pockets across the nation.
It read: “Ever since freezers and fridges with roomy freezer compartments appeared on the scene, people have known that there is money to be saved buying meat in bulk and freezing it.
“Capital Meat Centres give you the convenience of buying frozen food at value for money prices in packs that are ideal for this cost conscious age.”
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The 41-year-old advert also reveals that the Capital Meat Centre had diversified its range of products., all of which were available at mouth-wateringly low prices. Customers could purchase packs of economy mince for 74p, steak mince for 94p, Scotch haggis for 45p, pizzas for 25p, sliced sausage for 44p, and a dozen Zaad beefburgers 64p.
Former Edinburgh resident Richard Walker, 47, says his late mother, Linda Walker, worked for the Capital Meat Centre for more than two decades as the assistant manager at the Currie branch. He has fond memories of visiting his mum’s store growing up.
Richard, who now lives in Liverpool, told Edinburgh Live: “It was a big part of my mum’s life for years and years. I used to be in the back when I was a wee boy when she was cashing up. I can still remember the red uniform and navy blue apron my mum used to wear.
“The store was full of these big freezers that used to sell just about everything and it was all reasonably priced. It was frozen heaven.
“In those days people who had kids could get all their stuff in bulk, like frozen veg that would last a lot longer than buying fresh.
“It was a good thing for the community - everybody in Edinburgh knew the Capital Meat Centre.”
In the 1980s, the Capital Meat Centre was rebranded as Capital Foods. In a bid to beat off competition from rival freezer centres, the chain, which was now division of United Biscuits and had 65 stores across Scotland, expanded its range of chilled and fresh items and increased its monthly special offers.
Capital Foods would manage to endure for much of the following decade, however, the end was nigh for the Queensferry Road-headquartered business.
Cut-price competition from the likes of Farmfoods and Iceland and an unsuccessful attempt to expand into England saw the frozen food giant post huge annual losses. In May 1996, Capital Foods called in the receivers, closing its dozens of stores and putting some 500 jobs at risk.
The business would eventually be purchased by rival freezer centre firm Farmfoods and many of the old Capital Foods stores rebranded as such after the buy-out.
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