25/10/2026
A DISAPPOINTING DAY FOR OUR STORE AND COMMUNITY 💔
Today, we experienced two incidents that have left us deeply disappointed and upset.
What began as an incident of suspected theft involving our regular customer Sharon later escalated into a separate confrontation with her partner, during which I was physically assaulted and subjected to vile racist abuse.
We will not go into the finer details, as this post is not intended to encourage gossip or speculation. However, we feel it is important to speak out about the unacceptable behaviour that retail workers and independent shopkeepers continue to face.
I was born and raised in Scotland. Scotland is my home, and I am incredibly proud to call myself Scottish.
My family has operated convenience stores across Scotland since 1988. For nearly four decades, we have worked hard to serve our communities, create jobs and build relationships with the wonderful customers who support us.
To be physically assaulted and called racist names, including “Paki”, while simply trying to run our family business is genuinely heartbreaking.
I thought we had moved beyond this kind of behaviour in Scotland.
The Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 was introduced to protect people working in retail from abuse, threats and violence. Yet incidents like this demonstrate why these protections remain so important.
No shopkeeper or member of staff should ever have to accept theft, intimidation, violence or racism as part of their job.
Both individuals involved in today’s incidents have been permanently barred from our store. We have retained the relevant CCTV footage as evidence.
We are not looking for sympathy or attention. We simply want to run our business, look after our staff and continue serving the community we are proud to be part of.
To our loyal customers, thank you for your continued kindness, respect and support. The overwhelming majority of you are fantastic, and we will never allow the actions of a small minority to overshadow that.
We are proud of our Scottish roots, proud of our family business and proud to have served communities across Scotland since 1988.
❤️ Thank you for supporting your local independent retailers.
Racism has no place in Scotland. Violence has no place in our shops. And respect should never be too much to ask.
