Thursday July 2nd 2026
Gifford village shop was previously known as Nisa but is now Premier, according to the licence application
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A village shop which once lost its drinks licence over Christmas has been given a fresh start by licensing bosses who said it was the ‘heartbeat’ of its community.
Gifford’s local store has changed hands a number of times in recent years and appeared before East Lothian Licensing Board last week applying for occasional licences as new operators take it over.
The board heard the shop, which currently operates as a Premier store, is being taken over by Nisha & Brothers and will be run by Nishanthiny Sureshkumar and Ramalingham Sureshkumar.
The licensing standards officer said she met with Mrs Sureshkumar, who currently operates a convenience store in Dunfermline, and plans to move with her family to the area, and the store was currently not selling alcohol because previous licences ran out at the start of June.
The shop has had a chequered history in recent years under previous management with the board removing its alcohol licence in December 2023 after concerns were raised that not a single member of staff spoke English and training documentation was not available.
The licence was returned in May 2025 but in March this year, under a different operator, it narrowly kept it after the board was once again told of concerns about staff who had falsely pretended to be the boss during an inspection and, again, failed to understand questions asked in English.
At the time the licensing standards officer questioned how staff could safeguard against selling to underage children if they were “unable to communicate to complete age verification checks”.
Last week the store returned to the board with the new operators set to take over and a pledge to work with the community as they applied for new occasional licences to resume selling alcohol in the village.
Their representative Gordon Emslie told the board Mrs Sureshkumar had now bought the store and the family were relocating to Gifford to take a ‘hands on approach’.
He said: “Both Nish and Ramalingham plan to work in the store and employ local staff to support them. They fully appreciate work is required to rebuild confidence both in the local community and the licensing board and they are committed to demonstrating they can operate the premises completely and responsibly.
“They are acutely aware of the premises chequered history over the past three to four years and approach this new venture with their eyes open.”
Councillor John McMillan, board member welcomed the new operators of the store telling them: “For me this is a fresh start, we shouldn’t be looking to the past and I think for Gifford it is important intentions are met and the store is well managed, the store resonates and links into its community and that you bring all your experience together.
“We all want it to be successful and are relying on you.”
Councillor George McGuire, board chairperson, added: “We have been dealing with this store for a number of years now, it is the heartbeat of the community and that is why we have such a concern for it.
“In recent years residents have been downhearted about what has happened there and hopefully we can move forward and you can give them the store that they deserve in Gifford.”
The board unanimously supported the occasional licence to allow the store to sell alcohol.
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