TESCO is about to open its strangest new Scottish store – in a pub where an ex-boxing champion was killed.
The Tesco Express will this week move into the former Marmion pub in Gracemount, Edinburgh, following approval of its alcohol license.
The opening comes five years on from the murder of 32-year-old Alex McKinnon, a former Scottish bantamweight boxing champion, and fatal shooting of his brother-in-law, James Hendry, on the premises.
Jamie Bain was convicted of the shooting and handed a sentence of 22 years, while accomplices Richard Cosgrove and Bernard Young are currently serving a minimum of 16 and 17 years respectively.
The pub was put up for sale in 2008 but Punch Taverns’ failure to find a buyer prompted an application for permission to turn the building into a supermarket.
Liberton and Gilmerton councillor Conor Snowden said:
“It’s very unfortunate when these one-off incidents cloud an area.
“Gilmerton is actually a very safe place and that incident is not something people want to dwell on. The pub itself didn’t really recover from it. “
Licensing board member Cllr Cammy Day added:
“A new local store will come in and give a new lease of life to the Marmion and hopefully benefit the wider community. “
