The Hilton Glasgow is offering Glasgow restaurateurs the opportunity to do a take-over of their ballroom until such time as large scale events are back on the menu.
General Manager Calum Ross has made the offer to help restaurateurs get back on their feet while adhering to social distancing challenges, having realised that many cannot be viable under social distancing restrictions.
He comments, “Like many of our colleagues the ‘distancing’ challenge –whether its 2m,1.5m or 1m causes us significant commercial issues. It may however present an opportunity for us to support others –particularly our friends in the restaurant business who have become such a special piece of Glasgow’s visitor experience.
“We could ‘entertain’ over 800 people in our Grand Ballroom in the pre Covid-19 era. This space has its own entrance, kitchen, storage and can operate separately to the hotel ‘tower’. We ‘get’ that part of the eating out experience is provided by the ‘scene setting’ each restaurateur has crafted for their premises. But the character of ‘place’ and the depth of the customer experience is much more than the surroundings that the action takes place in.
“If you’re looking for a way to keep connected with your customers and engaged with your teams then running a regular ‘pop up’ that allows you to reach viable volumes – might be part of the solution. Let us know if you’d like to discuss this further. Restaurants bring people to our city – we’d like to help make sure that they are still there when we get to the ‘other side’.
Scotland’s licensed trade celebrated in style at the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards on August 15th after the crème de la crème of the industry picked up industry gongs at the event held at The Glasgow Hilton, Glasgow
Glasgow pipped Edinburgh for the number of gongs given out with Saint Luke’s, Atlantic Bar & Brasserie, Vroni’s, the Bier Halle and Bag O’Nails all receiving accolades. However Edinburgh bars Bon Vivant and Hamilton’s flew the flag for the capital city. The Bon Vivant is Scotland’s Disaronno Cocktail Bar of the Year while Hamilton’s picked up the Tennent’s Quality Award.
Ayrshire businessmen Bill Costley of Costley & Costley and Colin Blair of Buzzworks were applauded by the guests as Bill received the Gordon & MacPhail Award for Success while Colin picked up the accolade Flow Entrepreneur of the Year. Meanwhile Arran’s Linda Johnson of Auchrannie was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Renfrewshire-based Manorview Hotels won the Bright Signals Social Media Award while Eaglesham pub The Swan was voted best for Casual Dining.
Galashiels was represented by The Clovenfords Hotel which won the Diageo Award for Social Responsibility and Community having opened a village shop in the pub.
Saint Luke’s in Glasgow was not only the favourite Dog Friendly Pub in Scotland but it also picked up the coveted Sunday Mail Pub of the Year Mirror, after judges deemed it the very best out of all the winners.
Stirling’s The Birds & Bees was given the top award in the category Sunday Mail Pub Spy of the Year.
Uddingston business Angels Hotel won the award for the best Renovation of the Year for its incredible make-over, and Bag O’Nails in Glasgow won the Kopparberg Independent Bar of the Year accolade. Vroni’s won Inverarity-Morton Wine by the Glass award and Atlantic Bar & Grill won the BII Customer Service Award. The Bier Halle team in Glasgow received the gong for Molson Coors Craft Beer Bar.
Whisky Bar of the year was hotly contested with The Keys in St Andrews the worthy recipient and the Country Pub of the Year title was won by The Old Mill Inn in Pitlochry. Makar Gin New Bar of the Year was presented to Milngavie establishment Finsbay.
The William Grant Bar Apprentice of the Year went to James Marchant-Wink of Rabble in Edinburgh.
The Awards, which were established 22 years ago, are the longest running honours for the Scottish licensed trade. They are run by industry publication DRAM. Said Publisher, Susan Young, “It’s great to see the standard of Scotland’s bars and pubs. They are a real credit to our hospitality industry. Well done, everyone.”
Photographs will be available from Thursday online at dramscotland.co.uk. If higher resolution images are required contact 0141 221 6965.
The trade investment team at Tennent Caledonian has scooped the prestigious ‘Investor of the Year’ accolade at the annual Deals & Dealmakers Awards held at Glasgow’s Hilton Hotel recently. The Tennent’s team have provided valuable funding of around £20m to support over 150 pub businesses across Scotland for small scale refurbishments and major new business ventures for the leading on-trade operators. A spokesperson for the Deals & Dealmakers Awards said, “Tennent Caledonian is operating in a tough sector and they are working really hard to maintain their client base and work alongside clients as a long term strategic partner, which is not that common. They have been clever with their approach in that they have moved from the old fashioned brewers loans into actually taking some equity.”