Edinburgh shoe shop and key cutters Shoeperior set to close its doors on Friday after 32 years of business

Dave McKiernan, 74, will close his Southside shop Shoeperior on Friday, November 29, after opening in the area back in 1992.

Dave originally opened his shoe shop and key cutting service at 51 Nicolson Street 32 years ago. However, a fire after just 11 weeks in business saw him have to move down the road to new premises at 121 Nicolson Street four months later, where he has remained to this day.

Explaining why he is shutting up shop for good this coming Friday, Dave said: “I’m retiring. I’m 74, so I think it’s time to retire now. I had wanted to carry on until I was 70, then Covid came in and I had to build the business up again after that. I feel like I’ve done my bit now.

“In retirement I’m looking forward to having lots of holidays. As I have not had much holidays in the 32 years I have been here.

“Although, I have really enjoyed being here. The banter with the customers is the thing I will miss the most. They kept me going. I’ve had a lot of lovely customers.

“I have seen a lot of changes over the years. It used to be more locals coming into the shop, but it is mostly students now.

“I didn’t think the business would last this long. You can never tell. The first two years were hard, especially with the fire forcing us to move, and then I built up the business from there.

“I would like to thank all the customers from over the years for helping me survive for so long.”

Dave admitted that he had to end shoe repairs earlier this year due to a lack of demand for the service, but he’s been kept busy with local demand for key cutting.

He said: “I had to stop doing shoe repairs in April or May this year, so I’ve just been doing key cutting since, just ticking along. Shoe repairs nationwide are dying. There are too many trainers and cheap shoes on the market these days.

“The keys do well, especially with students, and I have a lot of estate agents who use my service. So the key cutting has always been a substantial part of the business.

“I have had a few famous faces in here, including Aidan Gillen from Game of Thrones, and during the festival most years I get actors and comedians coming in to get keys cut.”

While, most family businesses are passed down, Dave added that his son is busy with his own locksmith company and his daughter works for the council, so both “didn’t fancy taking it on”.