There are countless businesses that have been synonymous with the Trongate down the years, but few are as missed as much as Roberts Stores.
For generations of fitba-daft youngsters in Glasgow, Roberts on the Trongate was an absolute rite of passage.
Situated for years on the corner of Trongate and Albion Street, the legendary store, which catered for a range of different sports and leisure activities, had an entire floor dedicated to the beautiful game of football.
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Punters would climb the steep stairs up to the first floor to be greeted by a multi-coloured display of football tops from all the great Scottish, English and European teams.
Downstairs, by a giant signed poster of Scotland and Celtic legend Paul McStay, there was a cornucopia of football boots, shin pads and goalkeeper gloves. The basement level was also home to camping gear.
The shop was latterly run by David Jaffe, whose grandfather Robert - the man who gave the store its famous name - originally set it up in the 1920s.
Initially specialising in outdoor equipment and sporting goods, Roberts Stores traded at several different locations along Argyle Street and the Trongate before settling in at No. 46 Trongate.
Well-known in Glasgow by the post-war era, the shop began selling its own football jerseys, which were "self coloured" in store. One 1950 advertisement reveals the shop was selling "green and white" striped jerseys alongside "Arsenal type" tops with white collar and sleeves in a variety of different colours.
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The store continued to thrive well into the modern era, with a partnership with UK-wide franchise Intersport ensuring Roberts stocked all the latest gear.
In the 1980s, the shop also attracted huge queues by securing personal appearances from Old Firm stars, including Terry Butcher and Mo Johnston.
Memories of Roberts Stores remain strong to this day and the shop is frequently brought up in conversation on social media and football fan forums.
On Rangers forum Follow Follow, one member wrote: "[Roberts Stores] was like the proverbial Aladdin's Cave of football kits.
"Apart from Rangers as a young teen I remember buying (or more likely my parents buying) the following: Leeds Utd (Admiral yellow kit), Barcelona, Scotland, Man City and Anderlecht.
"Also when you made your purchase you had a choice of carrier bag in either Rangers, them, Arsenal or Man Utd. To me Roberts were the go-to store rather than Greaves."
Another recalled: "[Roberts Stores] was my first weekend job. David Jaffe was the boss and when he went on holiday his dad used to come in and order the stock to be all moved about. Then he'd come back, take one look at the place and order it moved back.
"DJ must have had some connections, I remember when the checked Gers shirt was released in 1987 the bloody placed was queued up Albion St to the chip shop, when nobody could get enough tops he got them. Turned up in his Jag with bin bags full of new tops, he was panicking in case anyone saw them getting offloaded.
"Met Terry Butcher when he was in signing his personalised Umbro shin guards or something. I was 16 or 17 and he just looked like a f*****g mountain."
The store has also been mentioned on Celtic forum TalkCeltic, with one member commenting: "I used to get all my new fitbaw boots out of Roberts and lots of mad continental fitba tops."
Another Hoops fan recalled: "There was a massive photo of Paul McStay doing keepy-uppies at the top of the stairs to the basement. Photo was there for years."
Writing on the Lost Glasgow group on Facebook, Callum Kerr said: "[When I was] 14 or 15 years old, I scored the ultimate Saturday/Sunday job, in a Glasgow retail icon: Roberts Stores in the Trongate.
"We would have a queue to get in on the weekends with Old Robert on the door as the concierge.
"Great crew, and the most fun place to work. I bet many Glaswegians have many memories of the sport shop on the corner of Albion Street and Trongate, I know I do."
Commenting on Callum's thread, George Billy added: "My ma worked for the provy, I used to get cheques to go buy trainers there cos the were one of the few that accepted them."
On a separate thread, one person recalled: "Roberts Stores was proper old school, with wooden drawers and glass topped display units, I loved it.
"I vividly remember going with my mum to buy my brother a Peter McCloy home goalkeeper Umbro boxset for his birthday, I must have been about 13 at the time.
"Can also remember going with my mates and traipsing down the steep stairs to look at boots in the basement. The Paul McStay poster has been mentioned but I also remember the famous Nike Dr Dunkenstein and possibly an Air Jordan poster being long term fixtures. They are worth an absolute fortune these days."
Unfortunately despite the affection many Glaswegians had for the store, dwindling returns saw Roberts of Trongate shut up shop for good in February 2000.
Speaking to the Herald at the time, owner David Jaffe said: "'Many people have attended the closing down sale. They have bought well and they have told us how fond they are of our shop and the way we have always done business.
''Kind as these words are, I really want to ask each one of them where they have been for the last 10 years.''
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