The first generation
In 1955 Alex Crombie opened the doors to our Broughton street shop. He had always had a hankering to start his own business, and eventually took the plunge at the age of 49. His first intention was to open a bacon factory, but suitable, affordable premises were not available, and so he purchased a run down butcher’s shop in the centre of Edinburgh. His background was that of butcher, bacon curer, and laterally meat inspector for Edinburgh City Council. The butcher’s business really took off with his simple trading philosophy of providing,” Quality, Value, Cleanliness and Service”. He chose to trade slightly upmarket with good quality meat, well trimmed for its day with extra lean mince. His sausages were second to none, supported with the slogan. Unfortunately, Alex died at the age of 55.
The second generation
Sandy had joined the firm in 1956 and had by this time gained a good grounding and rose to the challenge. The shop continued to expand, and was renovated to reflect the best in meat retailing.Two adjoining shops were added to make the shop the size it is today. By the mid 1980’s butcher shops were under increased pressure from supermarkets, and Crombies decided to specialise. Following on from their success in winning “Scotland’s Best Butcher’s Beef Sausage” in 1985 with a low fat sausage, they were inspired to look at the market in more depth. This resulted in the development of over 100 varieties, putting them at the forefront of specialist sausage development in Scotland.
