The Edinburgh Reporter October 2022

14 BUSINESS

A business opened in lockdown wins award

It was the right

time to buy!

You can bank on our bike business

By PHYLLIS STEPHEN

ANTONY ZEIN set up his hair salon on St

John's Road about two and a half years ago

when he bravely bought the business during

the first part of the lockdown in 2020.

But he joked: "When is the right time to buy

a business?"

The Syrian barber now employs three

members of staff who work alongside him

in the refreshed surroundings. He did not

train, but learned to cut hair alongside his

“big cousin” in Syria and worked in Dubai

and many other countries before settling

in Scotland.

Recently his hard work has paid off with an

accolade from Scotlands Business Awards for

Best New Barbers. The nomination to the

awards was made anonymously but Antony

decided to enter the business allowing his

customers to vote using a QR code supplied.

Just a week before the ceremony the Director

of the awards body visited the premises and

explained they had had a mystery shopper. He

outlined details of the awards ceremony but

Antony has a three month old baby and was

unable to attend the event in Glasgow.

The award was sent through in the mail and

Antony says he is really pleased with it. He said:

"This is another chapter in the story. I was in

Carrick Knowe for eight years or so and left to

go to the Gulf to start an adventure. Two days

after I arrived in Qatar the whole country was

in lockdown and I was stuck in a hotel room

for 72 days. I eventually made it back to

Edinburgh in one piece and then this business

came up for sale.

"I had to get through and studied many

online courses to keep my mind going.

Everybody said to me that it was not the time

to buy a business but I went ahead and then of

course there was another lockdown in

December 2020. Being a new business I was

entitled to zero support, but I took that time

to refurbish the whole place inside and out,

making the barber shop an interesting

place to be."

Antony found old photos of the car

showroom which used to be on the site and he

has put these up on the wall along with other

photos of its previous existence as a branch of

the Union Bank of Scotland.

He tries hard to make it a bit different from

the usual barber shop offering free coffee tea or

even a single malt. He said: "I like to treat

people in the way that I like to be treated, and

we go the extra mile here."

Antony Zein offers all the usual services for

men's hair and beards. And now ladies

hairdressing is offered by Ina, a fully trained

Ukrainian hairdresser who arrived in

Edinburgh about three months ago and who is

building up her clientele.

Antony Zein Hair Salon is located at:

102 St John's Rd, Corstorphine EH12 8AT

To set up an appointment, call 0131 334 7726

http://www.antonyzeinhairsalon.co.uk

By PHYLLIS STEPHEN

A WELL-KNOWN name in the cycle

trade has moved to 70 St John's Road to

a retail unit which used to be a branch

Bank of Scotland but was most recently

occupied by Specsavers.

The business moved to temporary

premises in the former Woolworths

across the street but had to move out as

that building is now due for demolition

and redevelopment.

The new premises allow more room

for displaying all the kinds of bikes

which Graeme and his staff of four have

for sale - and they also now have a "dirty

area" round the back where they can

wash bikes down before servicing them.

Storage and workshop space is also vital

to the business where Danny Stewart

who is photographed left with Graeme

is described as the bike magician and

stunt man.

Graeme first moved into Corstorphine

believing it was the area which had

most other types of retail outlets but

was obviously lacking a bike shop. He

felt it was almost an essential for the

centre of population to have this service.

And the rest is history, as they say. Now

Graeme and Harts Cyclery occupy their

biggest shop unit yet. Graeme said :

"With all the development that is going

on it is going to be more and more

necessary. Corstorphine is going to

be an urban centre for more and

more people."

The business now offers a full range of

all kinds of bikes from children's bikes by

Puky to racing bikes and e-bikes which is

all part of a growing business, and is the

longest standing dealer in Gazelle bikes.

Graeme explained his business has its

own way of operating. He said: "We

know all our regular customers by name.

We are a proper independent bike shop

offering service, good products, and

expertise. If something goes wrong our

customers can always find someone to

speak to for assistance.”

The new shop may well allow for more

staff in future so if you are a keen bike

mechanic then do feel free to send your

CV to Graeme.

Harts biggest seller in terms of value is

of course e-bikes simply as the unit cost

is higher. Graeme said: "This is an area of

massive growth for the trade, but we

can service these as well. There are some

businesses which sell e-bikes which are

not great at caring for them. We have a

full service workshop and can fix

anything, pretty much."

Harts Cyclery is located at:

70 St John's Road Corstorphine EH12 8AT

Tel 0131 334 1441

Visit the website at

http://www.harts-cyclery.co.uk

Antony Zein showing

off his award

Graeme shows one of the many

uses of an e-assist cargo bike