Cost of living: Glasgow nightclub fears for future amid crisis

Envy Gin and Cocktail Bar opened up beneath Eden nightclub on Main Street in Coatbridge just a week before the first lockdown.

"We traded one weekend and then the next weekend that was it," says Bryan Higgins, marketing manager for Eden Group.

Family-run Eden Group is behind popular Lanarkshire venues Eden nightclub, Envy Gin and Cocktails and Avenue nightclub.

John Shilliday and Bryan Higgins of Eden Group, Colin Mearns, Newsquest (Image: John Shilliday and Bryan Higgins of Eden Group, Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

General manager John Shilliday said: "Literally one weekend of trading and that was it. And then mothballed for nearly two years.

“It was restrictions, shutdown, back. Restrictions, shut down, back. And even with restrictions you were limited.

"The grants were drying up but then you had a limited footfall in the place because you had to reduce your capacity by about two-thirds because of seating plans and social distancing. And no music. It was so bad.”

When business was back to normal and restrictions were lifted, the damage had already been done.

John said: "Nothing has reset the way we thought. During lockdown, we thought everyone would go back to their habits."

The nightclub was anticipating a return to four days of solid trading but has since only seen success on Friday and Saturday nights.

Coupled with skyrocketing running costs, it's becoming harder and harder to be confident about the future.

John said: "Energy costs are through the roof. The overheads in here are phenomenal. And everything else is going up.

"Public liability insurance, rents, wholesale costs - we’re now over £200 for a keg of beer. And we’re trying so hard not to pass that cost on to our customers.

"We can only hold that off so long because ultimately if you pass costs on to your customer and you're driving the cost per pint or per drink up, then it’s going to put off people coming through the door.

"So you’re caught between a rock and a hard place."

Bars and nightclubs are an important part of people's social life and play an integral role in the music culture of a city.

John said: "They're a social gathering. A social hub.

"Through the annals of time, there’s always been a bar in a town or a village.

"It’s just somewhere to go and chill out, relax and catch up with your friends. Even if you’re not drinking. Some people come in just to play pool."

He added: "It’s a feel-good factor, you know? You look forward to doing something at the weekend, getting out of the house, having a change of setting and a change of environment.

"A bit of music will lift your spirits. You don’t need to be drinking, you can be in just with your friends having a good time, making memories.

“Music is linked to so many people’s memories. I think it’s very good for your mental health."

If the sector crumbles, there will be a massive loss of jobs and a huge knock to the community.

John said: “I’ve been in the trade coming up on 30 years and it is kind of doom and gloom compared to how it used to be.

"Everybody used to love coming into a shift and it was bubbly, fun.

"You would look forward to coming in at the weekend to see your pals and have a laugh and a giggle.

"I’m not saying it's not a fun environment to work in, we still have our moments, but it’s nowhere near the cadence it used to be because there is a worry for longevity when it comes to how secure our jobs are for the long term.

"I mean this is my full-time job with this company. So we’re looking at job security for the longer term.

"We’ve got kids and our personal mortgages and whatever ourselves. This is 30 years in this trade alone. If I lost my job here, what am I going to do for a living? I have no idea.”

He added: “It is rewarding in its own way, the memories you make, the laughs, the giggles, that's probably the biggest thing, the camaraderie that we all have together. It’s awesome that way.

"But it’s just getting less and less rewarding than it used to be because of the uncertainty of the future. It is a bit of a worry.

"I think that’s constantly at the back of your mind now, is how long is this trade going to sustain for the future?

"I'm the oldest in the group at 44, but I'm still looking at another 20-odd years until retirement age.

"And I'm thinking, I don’t know what I would do if I had to leave this trade. Where would I go, work-wise?

"I thoroughly enjoy my job, I genuinely do, so I want to do this for as long as I can and work in this trade for as long as I can.

"But as I say, it could be five years, 10 years ... that’s a worry for me."

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The Glasgow Times is investigating the city's night-time economy as part of a new series. Please email our reporter Marissa MacWhirter at marissa.macwhirter@newsquest.co.uk if you have any tips, questions or comments.