Henry Healy is a Glasgow institution.

Originally a grocer, it has been supplying fast food and takeaway meals since long before such phrases had lodged in the city’s vocabulary. Its demise will be lamented and as with all wakes, cue for nostalgia.

In this case, it will be for the local idiosyncrasies not found in the sandwich chains which provide the same selection across half the world, but no fried egg rolls. There will be reminiscences of the unique taste of the HH bacon roll – due to deep frying the bacon – and recollections of foreigners bewildered at being asked if they wanted their fried egg “burst”.

But most of the mourners won’t have stepped inside one of the shops for years, having long given up bacon rolls in favour of crayfish garnished with rocket.

The collapse of the distinctive chain, which once had a shop in every Glasgow neighbourhood, will be blamed on failure to move with the times. That ignores the fact that the fortunes of the business reflected Glasgow’s social history. It was one of several grocers whose Irish connections led them to import ham and dairy produce and were patronised for their value for money. As competition with supermarkets increased, it reinvented itself to accommodate the change from raw ingredients for home cooking to the demand for food to go.

The closure of the last outpost of this small but significant piece of retail history is a further reminder of the fragility of our high streets. For decades we have witnessed the slow death of the once-bustling commercial centres of industrial burghs and market towns, while driving to the edge-of-town supermarket or retail park.

It is now that the empty shops and short-stay discount stores are outnumbering the struggling butcher, baker and newsagent that there is widespread understanding that there is more to the cost of the weekly groceries than the sum on the till receipt.

The first step towards rescuing the historic hearts of our communities has come with a £60m town-centre regeneration scheme funded by the Scottish Government. This should not be mistaken for a high-level policy change. It is a measure extracted from the SNP by the Tories in return for their support for the budget.

But derelict high streets need more than the restoration of abandoned buildings. When local shops are put out of business, the reverberations affect the whole community.

English market towns are sharing expertise on how to revitalise their centres and some are testing incentives such as loyalty cards and prize draws for regular shoppers.

Scotland needs a similar action plan. Providing good housing in town centres would provide a permanent customer base for small local businesses. Otherwise it is a matter of time before every town loses its equivalent of Henry Healy.