Glaswegians have rallied around a legendary music venue after it revealed it was facing "imminent" closure due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
After exhausting all avenues of funding, McChuills announced on social media with a "heavy heart" funds and grants received by the venue have not been enough for it to break even.
The musical institution attempted to reinvent around restrictions by reopening as a cafe as a last resort to stay open and preserve jobs - but bosses have sadly warned it faces closing its doors "for good".
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Now, a fundraiser has been set up in its "fight for survival", with donations of over £15,000 pouring in from fans of the establishment from across the globe.
Owner Nicky Stewart said: "Since we’ve been in lockdown on and off since March, we refurbished the place and put in a kitchen to work around the changing restrictions so we could circumnavigate business around what we could and couldn’t do.
“We’ve repurposed the venue into a café as a last resort to try to save the business. The funding that has been made available by Glasgow City Council to see us through hasn’t really been enough to keep us afloat.
“It wasn’t even going to be enough if we did keep our doors shut so we quite quickly got ourselves into trouble. Essentially, with what we’ve currently got and what we’ve done to the venue, I gave it six weeks until we had to close the doors permanently."
After operating in the city for 27 years, Nicky warns the loss of his venue alongside others will be "devastating" for the "culture of Glasgow" as he urges the government to provide better support.
He added: "Before the lockdown, tourism was booming in Glasgow and the thing tourists like about the city is its music scene. Our biggest selling point is our nightlife – we’ve got good bars, good restaurants and night clubs, all of which are under extreme pressure now.
“I think the government needs to realise that’s what we sell to the world as a city. That’s why people come to Glasgow rather than Edinburgh.
“At the moment, Glasgow is losing its very culture and it is devastating. I think it is important to say all of these bars and venues have struggled. There needs to be support in place to ensure that all of our locals can reopen.
“Sadly, I think we will see a lot of pubs clubs and bars go down over the next few months.
“We’re just maybe one of the first ones to fall into major trouble. If we are saved, it won’t save the other bars in the city and that’s our main message – we are in this crisis together.”
Donate to McChuills' online fundraiser HERE.
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