DRAM May 2021

366 DRAM MAGAZINE May 2021 ISSN 1470-241X

DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

@dramscotland

/dram.scotland

#bekindtohospitality movement grows

I

April opening date was honoured by the Scottish Government.

Unfortunately for many wet-led pubs and live music venues, there is still a wait on their hands and with no further support.

The trade organisations are still fighting the fight to allow Scotland’s licensed trade venues to fully open.

In this issue we have an interview with Fraser McIlwraith - he has just launched, with Michael Robertson, a new recruitment business. He is better known for running his existing Dark Art Drinks business and the Cocktail

DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

WELCOME

I

t was with a sigh of relief that the 26th April opening date was honoured by the Scottish Government. Unfortunately for many wet-led pubs and live music venues, there is still a wait on their hands and with no further support.

The trade organisations are still fighting the fight to allow Scotland’s licensed trade venues to fully open.

In this issue we have an interview with Fraser McIlwraith - he has just launched, with Michael Robertson, a new recruitment business. He is better known for running his existing Dark Art Drinks business and the Cocktail Collective - he has more energy than just about anyone I know. Find out what he has to say on page 16.

Lockdown has allowed many operators to refurbish their premises and DRG have done just that with Amarone in Edinburgh. It looks amazing. Manorview has also been busy it is about to relaunch The Redhurst in Giffnock.

See our design pages.

COVER STORY: The Radisson Red has started a campaign which is now gathering support from licensees around the country.

The message is #bekindtohospitality. Please share the message. Read the full story online at www.dramscotland.co.uk We also have a date for awards 7th September - this year they have a new format, all will be revealed shortly.

Susan Young, Publisher susan@mediaworldltd.com dramscotland.co.uk

@dramscotland

/dram.scotland

CONTENTS May

2021

FEATURES

11

13 16 23

THE REDHURST’S NEW LOOK

DO YOU WANT TO GET ON PAGE 1 OF GOOGLE?

Nicola Young explains how you can do this.

LICENSEE INTERVIEW

Fraser McIlwraith talks to Susan Young

DESIGN FEATURE Amarone Edinburgh

REGULARS

4 8 30

NEWS

All the news on pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels.

BRAND NEWS

The latest brand news.

SUE SAYS

Straight talking from our very own Publisher.

DRAM MAY 2021 3

Phased re-opening for Siberia in Aberdeen Licensee Stuart McPhee will phase the reopening of Siberia on Aberdeen’s Belmont Street from May 10 to ensure the safety of staff and customers.

He told DRAM, “There’s a lot we can do after not being able to do anything and I am concerned what the impact will be on the virus and how people will react to venues being open again.

“Customers are trying to book with us all the time so I think it’s going to be crazy busy once we open. We brought staff back around April 26 for training on the new till system. We’re doing a lot of plate spinning and don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves by rushing things because we don’t want to see case numbers rise. Then they will just shut us down again because they’ve got another stick to beat us with.”

Stuart’s also the spokesman for Aberdeen Hospitality Together.

Nonna Said, ‘where’s the Duke’s Umbrella?’

Business partners Andy McCartney and Scott Leask have opened Glasgow west end pizza place Nonna Said on Candleriggs in the former Khublai Khan and will open The Duke’s Umbrella on the corner of Argyle Street and James Watt Street on May 17.

Andy told DRAM, “The Duke’s Umbrella has been a long time in the making. It was supposed to open in December but couldn’t because of the third lockdown. The idea for Nonna Said sprung up on the back of a successful takeaway operation.”

Nona Said is a 130-capacity restaurant with a 1 am licence.

The Duke’s Umbrella will have a rustic, artisan feel, is fronted by John Molloy, Development Chef alongside General Manager Craig McKay. John said, “We will be giving our food the attention it deserves and treating the ingredients in the same way fine dining restaurants do. All while maintaining a relaxed atmosphere and delivering the sort of food you’ve always wanted from your local.”

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DRAM MAY 2021

CRANSIDE KITCHEN UNVEILS NEW RESTAURANT LINE-UP Glasgow’s Cranside Kitchen owners Kevin Campbell and Toni Carbajosa have revealed a new nine-restaurant line-up including rotating new food and drink pop-ups.

Returning will be the hospitality entrepreneurs’ other concerns Halloumi and Kilmurry & Co. and joining them will be Romano’s, Yuzu, Nori, Fino, Xi’an, Bon Bon, and Chang.

When bookings at Cranside Kitchen went live last month customers snapped up 10,000 table reservations in less than 24 hours and according to Kevin Campbell, the appetite is only getting stronger since they reopened.

He told DRAM, “It’s early days but we have been very very busy and we have tens of thousands booked in over the next few months. It’s all looking good.”

Macmerry 300 on a roll in Glasgow Macmerry 300, run by AJ McMenemy and Phil Donaldson, has just opened The Bull at 185 Great Western Road where Munro’s used to be. It has opened just ahead of a new Abandon Ship bar concept planned for Glasgow’s Mitchell Street this summer. This marks Glasgow units two and three for the Dundee-based operator after The Luchador opened on the south side last year.

The Bull has a rich and colourful interior that blends the old and new - with traditional gas-lamp lighting giving it a Victoriana feel.

There’s also pops of tangerine velvet and terrazzo tiling. It offers utilises Scottish producers with the food menu reflecting this and is beer menu also has a Scottish craft offering.

As well as Abandon Ship in Dundee, run by Richard Davies and AJ McMenemy, Macmerry 300 also operates a total of 11 bars including Dundee bars Bird & Bear, The King of Islington, and Gracies in Broughty Ferry. Draffens, The Blue Room, and BuBu are all neighbouring units within the Nethergate Building, at 36-38 Nethergate, the former Draffens Department store.

NEWS n Brewdog boss James Watt has said on Twitter that he’s been eyeing up a site for a brand new hotel in Edinburgh.

It already has hotels in Aberdeen and Manchester.

THE PRINCESSES OF RIDDRIE The Princess at Riddrie has just reopened after a £325K refurbishment. It’s not just the interior that has been revamped its beer garden has too. It now boasts one of the largest beer gardens in the East End of Glasgow.

Star Pubs & Bars and the pub’s licensees, mother and daughter team, Victoria Ashgar, left, and Adrienne Greenaway, right, funded the refurbishment which has seen the venue improve greatly.

Victoria and Adrienne have had the pub for nearly 20 years and the work was planned pre-pandemic. Now the two are back in action and delighted to welcome customers back. Cheers.

DUNDEE WELCOMES VANDAL & CO Vandal & Co is the newest restaurant on the block in Dundee. Jonnie Armitage and business partner Corey Buxton are behind the new 36-cover restaurant. Chef Nicholas Kock is running the kitchen. It opened on April 27 in the former Castlehill restaurant on Exchange Street.

Jonnie and Australian Corey decided to turn their dream of running a restaurant into a reality after working together in the cities Italian Grill.

Corey told DRAM, “Between Jonnie, Nicholas, and I, we have over 40 years experience working in hospitality. I worked in many bars in Australia before moving here and met Jonnie when we worked at Dundee’s Italian Grill.

“It’s great to have our own place. We got 350 bookings from the good people of Dundee in the first week. We all have sore legs because we’re not used to that many steps, but it’s the good type of pain.”

The colour scheme is white, teal, and yellow with pops of colour on quirky pictures on the wall like a pink flamingo.

CHEF MODOU DIAGNE RARING TO GO Chef Modou Diagne can’t wait to show the world what he can do with 111 by Modou at 111 Cleveden Road Glasgow now it’s open again. He’s been raring to go ever since former owner Chef Nico Simeone handed him the keys last year.

Modou said, “I can’t wait. Because the restaurant opened during the 2020 pandemic, I wasn’t able to show everyone in the industry what I could do in the kitchen.”

Said the Tweet, “Working on a potential BrewDog beer hotel location in Edinburgh today. It would be great to open a beer hotel in the capital of our home country. Watch this space.” n Kickass Hostels has submitted plans to Edinburgh Council to turn a former car park next to its Kick Ass Hostel on the Cowgate into a 40-capacity beer garden. The application includes plans for a new timber pergola and to carry out landscaping. n Sovereign Grooming closed its Aberdeen salon on April 26 to allow its team of 18 staff to support local food and drink businesses as a message of support and solidarity. n John and Nan Wilson, owners of Betty Nicols’ pub in Kirkcaldy’s Merchants’ Quarter, have pivoted the business to serve bistro food ahead of hopefully reopening on May 17. It’s to replace lost function business until restrictions are lifted. n More than 100 objections have been received for plans to turn the Albert Hotel pub in North Queensferry into four flats. The local community and a group of local investors have outlined plans to rescue the pub and re-open it with early indications that it’ll focus on craft beers, fine wines, and pizza. n Shergill family-owned CloudQitchens, the Glasgow-based dark kitchen provider, has opened its first operation in East Kilbride. Dark kitchens are also known as virtual kitchens, cloud kitchens, ghost kitchens, or deliveryonly restaurants. Owner Sandeep Shergill says that it is now available for a range of food businesses to take advantage of.

DRAM MAY 2021 5

NEWS REVAMP FOR THE SWAN INN Nick Arkless has been busy. He and his team have totally revamped The Swan Inn in Stranraer. The former coach house has been a public house for more than 100 years and Nick has had it for the past 16 years and decided to modernise the popular bar. He explains, “Previously the layout was very old fashioned. It was a two-bar set up with lounge bar and public bar, with a kitchen upstairs (we took that out 10 years ago). Now it has a new layout and is a large single bar operation. We’ve put in a brand new kitchen and a brand new outside beer garden. We decided to future proof. The only other alternative was to lose The Swan and create flats, but my wife felt that this could not happen as the age of the public house merited being improved, modernised and indeed saved as a business.”

David Buchan’s Glasgow Mitchell Street bar Tingle opened on April 26 with a brand new outdoor area that was nine months in the making. It has a new beer garden with benches, hanging flowers, fairy lights, and gin trees. The garden is also fully heated and undercover.

The terrace has actually taken over the back area next to the bar and there’s a stretch tent covering and outdoor heaters with seats lining the lane as you enter along with five tables. The inside is also due to get a mini-refurbishment including new toilets and flooring.

No more reading at Roques It’s been over a year in the making but part of owner Derek Souter’s £800k transformation of Dundee’s St Roques Library into St Roques bar and grill will see the light of day this month. The beer garden will open on May 17 with works still ongoing inside the building at 57 Blackscroft. Covid-19 and planning issues delayed the launch that was supposed to happen last July.

The former Reading Rooms nightclub closed in 2019 and its latest incarnation will have a capacity for up to 125 people in the Grade B listed building that was designed in 1910

by Dundee’s City Architect, James Thomson.

A flavour of Mara Mara at Links House is the name of the new restaurant at Links House at Royal Dornoch. ‘A Flavour of Mara’ launched on April 26 with a limited offering and there’ll be a grand opening on May 17. It’s operating under the guidance of its new executive chef, James McDonald who worked under Gordon Ramsay.

He will spearhead the launch of the dining concept that celebrates the best of Scotland’s larder.

St Andrews restaurant owned by Masterchef finalist Haar means ‘a cold sea fog on the east coast of Scotland’ but this fog is lifting – and moving because the restaurant of the same name that was in St Andrew’s is relocating to Edinburgh.

It’s owned by MasterChef: The Professionals finalist Dean Banks and the actual location is still under wraps but will open June 1.

Before the pandemic, Dean had been planning to open a second Haar restaurant in Edinburgh as a sister eatery to the Fife venue but now all operations of the Michelin Guide 2021 listed restaurant will move lock, stock and barrel to the capital.

GLASGOW OPERATOR SUBMITS PLANS FOR PEEBLES RESTAURANT Glasgow-based Sava Estates Limited has submitted a planning application to Scottish Borders Council in a bid to convert the former TSB branch on Peebles’ High Street into a ‘quality restaurant’.

The building has been empty since March 2020. It was closed at the start of the first lockdown.

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DRAM MAY 2021

WELCOME...

NOW YOU’RE TALKING. Call our customer team on

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BRAND NEWS

ALL THE L ATEST BRAND NEWS

WHISKY

Loch Lomond Whiskies unveils rare 45 Year Old Loch Lomond Whiskies has unveiled its newest aged single malt; a 45 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

The expression is the first of three releases in The Remarkable Stills Series of single malts to be released by the distillery which celebrate its innovative and unique straight neck pot stills.

Master Blender, Michael Henry said, “Our straight neck pot stills connect us to the spirit of innovation that was built into our distillery from the beginning, and places flavour at the centre of what we do. It is only fitting that we mark their significance to us through the Remarkable Stills Series.

“It has been a pleasure working on the creation of the Loch Lomond 45 Year Old, our first release of the series. It is a truly beautiful expression and captures the essence of the Loch Lomond Whiskies spirit perfectly.

For more information on Loch Lomond 45 Year Old, please visithttps://www.lochlomondwhiskies.com/products/lochlomond-45-year-old-single-malt.

DIAGEO UNVEILS BRORA TRIPTYCH Diageo has unveiled a range of one-off special releases from the famous ghost distillery, Brora.

Brora Triptych is a celebration of the distillery, which is set to reopen in mid-May. Originally known as Clynelish, production began in Brora Distillery on the north-east coast of Scotland in 1819 but it closed in 1983. The releases are Brora ‘Elusive Legacy’ 1972, 48-YearOld, Brora ‘Age of Peat’ 1977, 43-Year-Old and Brora ‘Timeless Original’ 1982, 38-Year-Old. Master blender Dr. Craig Wilson has selected the vintage Single Malt whiskies in the Triptych, and said, “These are some of our very last precious relics from a Brora of a bygone age. Each one represents a moment in time at the distillery and tasting these superb whiskies is to be part of a special moment in history.”

CASK TRADE RELEASES FIRST EVER TRILOGY OF CASKS The Cask Trade Trilogy is a limited-edition trio of casks available in three unique expressions using new-make spirit distilled at Speyside Distillery in Kingussie. Cask Trade is creating three distinct whisky expressions – Bourbon, Sherry and Port matured.

The new Trilogy is the first to be produced and sold in cask by Cask Trade.

Managing Director of Cask Trade, Simon Aron, says, “The creation of this Trilogy is a first for Cask Trade, and a truly exceptional opportunity for whisky enthusiasts and investors alike.

“We are fanatical about whisky and believe the marrying of the liquid with the wood to create three different flavour profiles will be an extraordinary experience.”

Cask Trade has priced the casks keenly with passionate whisky enthusiasts in mind. The complete Trilogy is available priced £5,000 and includes five years free storage and insurance.

HARD SELTZER

Brand new Scottish drinks start-up A new Scottish drink brand called Twisted Sisters Drinks will launch this summer featuring a range of hard seltzers and RTD cocktails. It was born through lockdown by co-founders Ruth Jones.

The brand will launch, initially, with three hard seltzers in early June with ambitions of ‘conquering the on-trade as it reopens.’

Said Ruth, “We found other hard seltzers on the market have chosen to add ‘a hint of flavour. We have chosen a much fuller flavour profile which has been well received” The range will consist of coconut and lime, blueberry and elderflower and rhubarb and ginger. All are low calorie, vegan, gluten-free and carb free and will be available from the Twisted Sisters website.

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DRAM MAY 2021

GIN

BEER

EDEN MILL DISTILLER’S CHOICE COLLECTION LAUNCH RED AND WHITE WINE CASK AGED GINS

INNIS & GUNN TEAM UP WITH LAPHROAIG

‘Red Wine Cask-Aged Gin’ and ‘White Wine Cask-Aged Gin’ are limited edition gins developed and handcrafted by Eden Mill’s expert senior distilling team, Scott Ferguson and Andrew Walker. The gins join Oak Old Tom Gin in the collection of ‘standout contemporary expressions,’ which launched in early 2021 winning Silver at the London Spirit Awards in April of this year.

Eden Mill Head Distiller Scott Ferguson said, “As Scotland’s first single-site brewery and distillery, we’ve been marrying techniques and experimenting with new flavours since day one. We first brought our fascination for oak from producing whisky together with gin when we created Eden Mill’s Oak Gin in 2015. By experimenting with cask-ageing and also adding oak chips, we found a beautiful way of giving gin a boost of flavour at speed.’

Innis & Gunn has released 3,400 limited edition bottles of the 7.4% Innis & Gunn Islay Whisky Cask available in 33cl bottles. It has been matured in Laphroaig ten-year-old single malt Scotch casks for 12 weeks.

Said Chris Richardson, global senior director for Laphroaig, “The Islay Whisky Cask limited edition is perfect for anyone who loves the unforgettable flavour of Laphroaig and wants to experience it married with the deep, rich flavours of one of Scotland’s top beers.

Order at the Innis & Gunn online store: https://www.innisandgunn.com

VODKA

Ten Locks adds Mary White Bombay Sapphire on track to boast Vodka to its portfolio Locks has added 100% sustainably sourced botanicals Ten Belgium’s first vodka Bombay Sapphire has announced that all 10 of its botanical ingredients are on track to be certified sustainable in 2021. The suppliers of eight already certified according to the For Life standard. The goal is for the remaining two producers – for grains of paradise from Ghana and liquorice from China – to be certified in the months which follow the lifting of travel restrictions.

This news is a major step towards parent company Bacardi’s aim of achieving its 2025 goal of sourcing 100% of its key ingredients from sustainably certified suppliers. The 10 botanicals, including juniper from Tuscany, coriander from Morocco, lemon peel from Spain and cubeb berries from Java, are hand-selected by Bombay Sapphire’s master of botanicals Ivano Tonutti. He said, “We take a 360-degree approach to sustainability. It’s our responsibility to care as much about the farmers and their communities as we do the botanicals they grow and harvest for Bombay Sapphire. By looking after their well-being and investing in sustainable farming practices, we are helping to protect the environment and their livelihoods for generations to come.”

Mary White Vodka to its portfolio. The 40% abv newcomer celebrates the ‘pioneering legacy’ of Mary White, described as ‘the uncrowned queen of New York bootleggers’, who turned the maledominated world of alcohol production in the Prohibition era on its head. Becky Davies, head of commercial at Ten Locks, said, “It’s an exceptional example of a brand with true distinction, enabling our customers to connect with consumers via a newer style of vodka while appealing to them directly with a beautiful proposition.” Mary White Vodka is priced £35 for a 70cl bottle. It joins Nusa Caña, Applewood Gin, West Cork Irish Whiskey, Salford Rum, Diablesse Rum, Banhez Mezcal and El Tequileño in Ten Locks’ portfolio.

DRAM MAY 2021 9

THE REDHURST HOTEL

GIFFNOCK

T

he Redhurst Hotel, owned by Manorview Hotels, closed its doors in February 2020 to undergo its biggest ever refurbishment to date to totally transform the property both inside and out.

The hotel, which was built in 1967 by the Stakis Hotel Group, and has seen a number of owners throughout the years, before being purchased by Manorview Hotel & Leisure Group in 2013.

Manorview officially received a handover from the builders last month and are now focusing on dressing the venue and rolling out team training prior to opening. The refurbishment was led

by Glasgow based Thomas Johnstone Group and the project management overseen by Nixon Ltd. Manorview worked with Space ID on interior design.

David Tracey, managing director, Manorview Hotels said, “After what has been undoubtedly the most challenging year for the hospitality industry we are delighted to be gearing up to officially

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DRAM MAY 2021

re-launch the Redhurst Hotel as the hotel industry comes back to life. The Redhurst has been a much loved venue in the heart of the Giffnock community for decades and the new look Redhurst is ready to be reborn!

“We will be keeping the same relaxed and welcoming ethos which the Redhurst is renowned for but will be providing a much more diverse and contemporary offering to our customers. They can expect a new look restaurant and bar with new all day dining options, a stunning outdoor terrace, a new ballroom and event spaces as well as chic new guest bedrooms and public areas throughout the hotel. We will officially be opening on the 12 May and our team are extremely excited to welcome guests back to the venue.”

The hotel also now boasts a new restaurant Bird & Bell.

The venue is part of the Manorview Hotels, which formed in 2007 and now comprises eight hotels, two nightclubs, two pubs, a fitness & leisure centre and luxury spa.

DRAM MAY 2021 11

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DO YOU WANT TO GET TO GET YOUR BUSINESS ON PAGE ONE OF GOOGLE (WITHOUT SPENDING ANY MONEY)?

BY NICOL A YOUNG

Seriously, it can be done. I have done it.

This works for all businesses but it is a great market for local. If you don’t know about this already, then bear with me because I need to start with YouTube.

YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. Google is number one. Both are owned by the same company, alphabet.

It is a perfect marriage and it can work well for you.

The challenge for Google, (I will come to what’s new in a second), is that it is search-based and it means that people search for a business and click a link and go to someone else’s webpage. The audience is lost. This isn’t good for business.

Take a look at Google search results today. You will now begin to notice YouTube videos in the search results. These videos are not paid listings, but they will usually be some of the first results

you see on Google. Google loves them. The reason for this is that when people click a YouTube video in the search result, the audience is staying within the same network of companies and remains available for advertising revenue or other commercial up-sells (Podcasts anyone? - watch out for these).

But, also, people prefer to watch a video. This means not only does it make commercial sense but the audience also likes it.

Once the audience arrives at YouTube, they are likely to take a look at other videos - how often have you fallen down the Youtube back hole?

This marketing mechanic to get on page one of Google is still untapped and it means that almost anyone can get onto the Google front page right now.

Now that you know why Google and YouTube like it, I will explain to DRAM MAY 2021 13

DO YOU WANT TO GET TO GET YOUR BUSINESS ON PAGE ONE OF GOOGLE (WITHOUT SPENDING ANY MONEY)?

CONT you what you need to do to take advantage of it.

You might be thinking, but am a local business so what chance do I have. I don’t have a large (or any) budget for advertising. That’s your strength when it comes to this. Any business in a location can do this and it doesn’t need to cost anything at all (just a bit of time) to find keywords (sorry, there is a downside). Unfortunately, the depressing news is that keywords matter more than ever now, but don’t worry about that yet.

Why you might ask, would I want to do this, I am listed in local directories, and so on? Well, what is the first you do when you are trying to find something? You open your phone and go to Google.

Everyone does.

For the purposes of this example, I am going to make up a pub in Partick in Glasgow. If you’re one or two of the establishments in that locale then you can implement this right away!

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first. Keywords.

The first thing you are going to do is to go to Google and search pubs in Patrick. The first thing you will see is the 3 or 4 ad listings along with the map. Then you will do restaurants in Partick, takeaways, and so on (if you are not offering food and entertainment, then don’t do this but find another term linked to what you offer e.g. beer, ales, wine, cocktails, karaoke, etc).

You will install something called Keywords Everywhere and Keyword Surfer. There are free versions of these tools. This will show what people are searching for. You can decide to use one or the other.

I happen to use them both.

In your Google search bar type “pubs in Partick” and do a space.

You will see what search terms people have been searching for.

When I did it I saw “pubs in Patrick Dumbarton road”, “pubs open in Partick”, “pubs in Patrick with live music”, “pubs in Patrick with food”.

Note down all the best terms for all the services you offer. You want at least 10 but ideally 20. These are your keywords and they will make the title and description of each of your videos. One per key term. Yes, videos.

Next, go to Youtube and create a channel. This is quite easy to do.

All you need is a Gmail account and some pictures.

When you are filling in the channel details, use the keywords that you want to rank for (that describe your services). Don’t forget to make sure you add “Partick”’ and use the phrase you want to rank for ie. not only the specifics like “entertainment” or “beer”.

Now you need to make a video!

Here’s how you can do that easily (there are quite a few ways).

I have used Zoom to screen record a presentation, Canva and Vidnami. Canva is probably the best when you are starting out and it’s good. It includes pictures, music and templates. You can use Canva for lots of things including menus. It also means you do not need to go on camera or speak if you don’t want to. By the time you have made your 2nd or 3rd video, each video should only take about 20 minutes to make.

Keep the videos to 3 minutes or less. The higher the per cent of your video watched the more Youtube (and therefore Google) loves you. Don’t make them too short, ‘watch time’ still matters to YouTube.

The title of your video is important. The title will be your keywords.

For example, “Partick Pub With Entertainment and Great Beer” (I haven’t checked that exact phrase). Capitalise the first letter of each word for the title. When you save the video use the exact title as the name of your saved file (this is what they call a ninja trick).

You upload this video to your YouTube channel and add your description. Use a description that has all of your main keywords included. The first few words should contain the words you have used in your title. Use Tubebuddy or VidIQ to help you maximise SEO (you can download this and it costs around £5 per month for the paid version).

The tile and the description are what helps people find your video and helps you rank on both Youtube and Google. They are probably the most important things that you need to spend time on.

When you upload your first video of your set, only add one keyword and don’t put a link to your website in the description. Come back after a week and add more keywords. Once your videos are ranking you can come back later and add a link to your website but don’t do this right away (YouTube doesn’t like it).

As soon as you have uploaded your video - add a comment and heart it and like the video and don’t forget to subscribe to your channel! This is another ‘trick’ that many people don’t do. Make sure that you do because it’s great for SEO. You then repeat this process over the next 10-20 weeks adding a new video keyword subject each week e.g., “Pubs in Patrick with food”, “Pubs Open In Partick”. You will need to do a bit of keyword research to get the right terms along with the title and description. It will be a bit of trial and error at the start so don’t worry, you will start to know what works for you.

And there you are. Keep checking Google. You will start to see your video’s ranking on the Google search results page and this is likely to be on page one.

Every time someone searches for a “pub in Patrick”, you will be the first (unpaid) listing everyone sees. You may also discover that you appear in, what I call, the video carousel (you will need multiple videos to appear in the carousel).

The great news is that once you have done this, these videos won’t go away. They are evergreen. And the sooner you do it, then the longer you will have this exposure all to yourself before everyone catches on. It’s not like advertising. There is no campaign end date. It’s not like social media where a post lasts, at most, a day but usually minutes (but, as we all know, you need social media too).

You are not seeking to be an influencer, nor do you need 1000’s or even 100’s of views or subscribers. Look at it as simply a ranking tool. And remember, Google loves YouTube.

The Dram have asked me to jump onto the new Dram Private Facebook group and answer any questions people might have about this topic. If you have not joined just go to the Facebook page where you will see the link. This is a private trade group. I may not respond right away but I promise I will get back to you but only in that group so that people can ask freely.

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A DREAM TEAM

XXX LICENSEE INTERVIEW

BY SUSAN YOUNG

FRASER MCILWRAITH (LEFT) AND MICHAEL ROBERTSON (RIGHT) ARE TWO OF THE MOST DYNAMIC PAIR I KNOW. BOTH HAVE THE SAME SERVICE ETHOS AND A DRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE THAT NO DOUBT IS PARTLY A RESULT OF THEIR STRONG SPORTS BACKGROUND. NOW THE TWO OF THEM HAVE TEAMED UP TO BRING TO THE SCOTTISH TRADE A NEW RECRUITMENT BUSINESS. IN THE FIRST OF TWO-PARTS I CAUGHT UP WITH FRASER TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE MAN BEHIND HOSPO. I ALSO CAUGHT UP WITH MICHAEL - LOOK OUT FOR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY IN MAY.

W

hen I heard that Fraser McIlwraith and Michael Robertson were teaming up to launch a recruitment company for hospitality called HOSPO I was not surprised. The two of them have a pedigree in hospitality that stretches back more than 20 years. They have probably interviewed more people than I have ... and have worked for most of the key operators in the business, but most of all they both believe that there is no point putting a round peg in a square hole.

So why are the two so suited? To find out you have to delve into their history. First up is Fraser. His CV is impressive – he has worked for some of the most successful businesses in the country from Caledonian Heritable to Buzzworks, DRG to G1.

While Michael has worked for Tiger Tiger, Living Ventures and Lynnet Leisure to name but a few – next month we have a full interview with Michael, but this month we concentrate on Fraser.

It was actually his father’s friendship with Ricky Agnew and Alan Tomkins that brought this privately schooled sportsman into the hospitality industry.

Fraser explains, “My dad went into business with Ricky and Alan to open Vodka Wodka in Paisley in the early 1990s. I was still a teenager and became an honorary glass collector at weekends.

They had recruited a team of guys who knew how to create a party atmosphere in a bar and that team included Mel Barr and Jamie Wray. It was a real eye-opener for me – particularly since Rangers had their training ground next door so we had Paul Gascoigne, Ali McCoist and Five Bellies in the bar every night. I was encouraged to get involved and participate mainly because if I didn’t the team were scared I would tell my dad. It was a real initiation into how a bar atmosphere can create a party, but also how it can pull you into drinking too much.”

His experience at Vodka Wodka taught him how a bar operated but it wasn’t until he went to University in Edinburgh to study Physiology that he considered working in a bar full-time. He says, “One of my flatmates Chris Miles (aka Chico) had a job at Ryan’s Bar in the West End of Edinburgh and one day I was waiting for

him after work when the manager, Hamish Mair, came out to talk to me. He said, “I hear you have bar experience, we are looking for staff. So I started working there and before long they told me they liked the look of what I did and asked me to work full-time.

I took the job, continued with my studies, and they put me onto a managers training programme. I was introduced to Sean and Kevin Doyle although at the time I didn’t realise how influential they were. I spent four years there, going to University occasionally!”

Fraser even helped out part-time at The International – a rather traditional pub beside the Meadows – so old school its cellar was across the road! It remains one of his most memorable experiences ever due to the fact that on his first shift, the boss left him in charge, and it was the regulars who told him who drank what, and what to charge. Says Fraser, “It was a unique experience.”

After graduating he considered three options – continue in Physiology, join the management team at Ryans Bar or head back to Glasgow to work with his dad and Alan Tomkins to open a new Vodka Wodka in Ashton Lane. He chose the latter and brought a team with him from Edinburgh. (Even then he was recruiting!)

At the tender age of 21, with the keys to an “amazing” West End bar, Fraser and his crew had a mission to create a similar bar to the Paisley Vodka Wodka with the same vibe, and this they did. They didn’t just create the party, they were the party! Says Fraser, “We got away with it because we were so successful and making a decent turnover.”

In fact, Fraser is the first to admit he always does everything to the max whether it was his education, “I was a straight-A student and Head boy” or sport. “I represented Scotland at Athletics and Glasgow at Rugby,” And by the time he got to Ashton Lane it was socialising, “Alcohol and chasing girls became my activity!” It was such an enjoyable time that many of the original team were still there four years on. Fraser smiles, “Many of them are married to people they met in the bar, and we have double-digit Vodka Wodka babies.”

However, like all good things boredom was starting to creep in DRAM MAY 2021 17

LICENSEE INTERVIEW a fact recognised by his father who, again with Alan Tomkins, decided to turn an Indian restaurant on Vinicombe Street into an upmarket cocktail bar called Booly Mardy’s aimed at the slightly older BBC crowd who frequented the West End due to the fact the BBC studios were then in Queen Margaret Drive.

Fraser explains, “We did high volume party cocktails at Vodka Wodka but we wanted to create a proper cocktail bar at Bouly Mardy’s. A good cocktail comes from not just the good drinks list, but the design of the bar, and the efficiencies the way it is set up and I was lucky to be able to design the bar so that it was geared up to serve cocktails as quickly and efficiently as possible and yet make them taste great. We were doing batch cocktails early on.”

Once again, the bar became the place to go in the West End. It was stowed out (I can vouch for that!). So Fraser, and a DJ from Vodka Wodka, reckoned they had it cracked when it came to running successful outlets and branched out on their own, and invested their own money, and opened Club V-Dub in Hope Street.

He smiles wryly, “unfortunately it didn’t last very long and ended badly. We were partying too much. I ended up having to sell my flat to pay for some of the losses.”

He admits it was a reset point in his life.

“I asked myself is this really what I should be doing – working and drinking every day?”

Fraser decided to head across the Atlantic to New York where he spent three months – playing rugby with the New York Athletic Club, and although he intended to stay, a visa eluded him which in a way was lucky. Because it was his next job was one of his most favourite.

He joined Mark Warner as a Restaurant Manager in Corsica. Says Fraser, “I wished I had done it earlier in my life.

I had to serve guests two out of three meals a day, I got to use all the guest facilities and was able to play volleyball, windsurf and other sports. I then did the winter season in the French Alps – all I had to do was run the bar and I skied or boarded every day. The bar was called Scotty’s and was renowned but after a year of that, I was falling back into my old ways. I was offered a job at the Hilton in Glasgow and came back. It meant starting again from scratch in Glasgow, but it gave me more stability.”

It did indeed because it was at the Hilton in William Street, as Bars Manager, that he met his wife-to-be, Lauren. Although he didn’t meet her right away as she was off sick – it may have been love at first sight! Fraser first set eyes on Lauren when she came in to work on crutches having had a foot operation and proceeded to speak French to a waiter. A date quickly followed... but although the romance lasted the job didn’t. Says Fraser, “I realised it wasn’t for me, I was too much of an entrepreneurial spirit to enjoy the corporate approach and when Ryan Barrie approached me to help open Citation I left. It was an amazing opening and a great venue. Actually, I would have stayed there but Ryan and I were very alike – and I wanted more responsibility.”

It was the next job that Fraser credits with changing his life. “I discovered Buzzworks and that was a gamechanger. I heard about the company bar manager job available, but I had reservations. It was in Ayrshire and having travelled the world and work in Glasgow bars, I really wasn’t sure. Then I went for the interview and it was a bizarre experience. Kenny Blair asked the questions and Colin Blair sat close and examined me. It was like no interview I had ever had. They were looking for someone with a natural instinct for hospitality. A year later Kenny told me that they recognised I had all the skills they wanted to teach people at Buzzworks but I didn’t 18

DRAM MAY 2021

know I had them. I think the phrase he used was “unconsciously competent”. I was amazed by their venues. I was amazed to find people who thought about the minutia of hospitality. I had found a kindred spirit with Kenny. I spent six years there and I like to think I carved my own role. I started as Bars Manager, opened venues, did all the liquor buying. In fact, I would probably still be there today if it wasn’t for starting a family. Buzzworks are very good at making their employees happy to work for them. I even tried living in Stewarton, and when we moved back to Glasgow I drove 45 minutes every day. The hours were long but enjoyable. But then I got a job offer I had always wanted - to join G1 as the buyer.

David Tracey had left to join Brewdog and there was a vacancy. My hours reduced to 50 hours a week, it was based at the head office in Glasgow and it was fascinating the number of brands I had to work with. A couple of years later, I joined DRG, they were highly recommended, and we did a wee joint venture with taking over Prep Fitness Kitchen. I think I might have been two years ahead of my time. And although I knew about drinks, and I was into healthy eating, when it came to running it I admit I did wing it. Turnover for the site was good but it was not easy to make a profit – the ingredients and the chef costs were high. I also looked after the entire drinks side of things for the other 23 sites as well as helping open the Citizen, improve the bar offering at Anchor Line and helped open Cafe Andaluz on George IV Bridge.”

It was around this time that Fraser realised that he could actually be an entrepreneur himself and Dark Art Drinks was born. He couldn’t, he tells me, have done it without the support of Lauren who didn’t just offer to fund his first three months, but gave him the mental support too. “I couldn’t have made the leap without her. We decided to try it for three months, and if it wasn’t working, I would be a full-time dad.”

The risk paid off. Pre-pandemic Dark Art Drinks had 95 clients on its books, today it has shrunk by one-third, but Fraser expects that to return to the original figure within three months. He is thankful that his first client the MSW buying group was so supportive. In fact, founder Stephen White helped him develop his role. “We had a few disagreements, but he was always fair, he coached me and mentored me too.”

Fraser quickly realised that he was on to something with Dark Art Drinks. Having worked for some of the biggest companies in the business, he knew what the prices looked like and sales reps couldn’t pull the wool over his eyes. However, he also worked out that he had to be fair and realised that his strengths were in the reciprocal zone advising clients what they had to do to ensure they got their money. He engaged Adam Strang as his Brand Activation Manager. He explains, “Adam was an extra pair of eyes on the ground. I could say to the brand owners, you have to invest properly in this, give cash support, retro and physical things our clients need for their business and we will ensure our clients deliver on the agreement.”

Then came Covid. Fraser didn’t falter and wrote to every single brand owner that he knew and asked them to pay bars cash due, and money accrued, and he didn’t take a penny. “A lot of brands were responsive,” says Fraser. “But then after a month we realised it was more serious than we originally thought and that we would be here for longer – and then we realised we wouldn’t make any money for the foreseeable future. There was no furlough for Adam and no furlough for me. We were dead in the water and we didn’t qualify for grants. I thought what can we do to make money?”

He continues, “It was the Easter weekend and we were in Vodka Wodka when the phone rang and someone asked us if we could deliver a Jolly Rancher... (the bars most famous cocktail) that weekend we sold 800! The phone started ringing off the hook.

It includes vodka, Midori, coconut rum, cranberry juice and lime – for some reason people go crazy for it because it tastes like holidays – we literally sell it by the litre and by the five-litre! and also have a ten-litre version. We couldn’t operate the bar, but we rented the space, and split the profit – we didn’t make much, but it meant we could pay our wages, and keep the brand alive.

We came up with the idea of the Cocktail Collective – we offered to make cocktails for other bars and market them and deliver them. Bars have come and gone, but to this day we still operate it and will continue to do so as we have invested in a unit in the Southside at the end of Park Lane market.

“We have also started wholesaling cocktails and our first was Panther Milk. In September last year, Paul Crawford approached us to make it in large batches. Up until then he was making it himself. His immediate requirement was for someone who can make it and distribute 100 litres a week – we were doing up to 300 litres of Jolly Rancher on a sunny day in Ashton Lane. The first thing I did was take a bottle home and drink it – then Adam and I played around with it. We wanted to make it using vegan milk– and now we have perfected the recipe. It has made Panther Milk more drinkable and it has been flying off the shelf. It’s more sustainable and eco-friendly too. It has been a good move and we now have a year’s agreement to make and distribute it for Paul.

Following this, we have done a deal with Dunn’s Food and Drinks who will exclusively wholesale it throughout Scotland. We are also looking at doing a deal with them to sell our other delivered cocktails as well.”

But that’s not all, Fraser and Adam have also developed a new brand in the shape of a whisky and Oat Milk liqueur. Watch this space.

And if that is not enough … back to where we began Recruitment.

“It was so obvious,” says Fraser, “In the two years before Covid, all my Dark Art Drinks clients have asked at some point if I could find them a good bar manager. A recruitment agency does that and gets paid, but I was doing it for free. The elephant in the room is perhaps the stigma around recruitment consultancies. When I have mentioned what we are doing to my friends they have said “that is interesting”. I don’t need you to find people but some people do need our help and will be happy to pay the going rate.

“Michael and I talked about it, we don’t want to charge over the odds, and we want the people we recruit to have our own high standards. We also intend to follow through with the entire process. Michael has certainly been underwhelmed by the poor quality of candidates some recruitment agencies send out. We know we both have an eye for reading a CV and talking to a person and can quickly work out whether they have the experience required or not. We want to put forward people who are right for the job. It may be a long slow process establishing HOSPO but we are not here to make a quick buck.

“We want to grow this and still have this going in five years time. This was the right opportunity and moment to start it. We understand hospitality. Over the next month or two people will

start to panic and we are ready and waiting with candidates to put forward. It was an absolute no brainer because we were doing it already. I tend to do front of house and bar – and Michael does the chef side of things. He has interviewed more chefs than I have – and we also have the sales and marketing expertise of David. It is a good dynamic.”

It certainly is – but then again Fraser is dynamic – he gets up at 5am, goes for a run, does some cross-fit, feeds his daughters... and then gets ready to take his business empire on. I was lost at 5am!

In stock now!

TEL: 01698 727 777 www.dunnsfoodanddrinks.co.uk

OUTSIDE IS THE NEW INSIDE

BY JASON CADDY WITH OUTSIDE BEING THE NEW INSIDE AND SOCIAL DISTANCING BEING WITH US FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE BY THE SOUNDS OF IT, HERE ARE TEN OF THE BEST PUB OUTSIDE AREAS IN SCOTLAND.

Brig & Barrel, Dunbar Antos Dog-Friendly Pub of the Year is now officially The Brig and Barrel in Dunbar after last year’s Scottish Bar & Pub award thanks to the efforts of owners James and Sarah Hughes and Labrador Fozzie. It’s very dog friendly. The pub is right between the Famous Bridge to Nowhere and the 300-year-old Belhaven Brewery and its outside area is absolutely on point. It’s all decked with wood heavy furniture that screams built-to-last. It backs onto a greenfield area at the very back and with lots of gazebos and fairy lights and little conifers planted in a divider in the middle, it has lots of room for human and doggie social distancing.

Cranside Kitchen, Glasgow Kevin Campbell and Toni Carbajosa opened the 200-capacity Cranside Kitchen on Glasgow’s Tunnel Street in Finnieston in July last year right in the eye of the pandemic storm. The outdoor restaurant venue offers menus from nine restaurants plus popups. The two centrepiece ‘pergola’ style marquees cover customers when it’s wet, plus it has lots of greenery, industrial walls, picnic tables and outdoor furnishings. The Rotunda parking area has been was altered into the outside restaurant venue that gives space for food service, plus Cranside offers its customers cracking views of the Clyde.

The Giddy Goose, Dundee Lauren and Calum Runciman are past winners of the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards Emerging Entrepreneur accolade for their Dundee businesses, The White Goose and The Giddy Goose. They designed the outside area at The Giddy Goose themselves and its quirkiness was its strength. But they’ve been at it again redesigning the outside area and gone are the pergolas, lights, wooden bench seating, floral arrangements, even a swing, and in their place is their new Bohemian Garden creation with lots more space between the original wooden booths that line this outside area’s curvature which has also helped afford more of the tables a view of the Tay.

Hugo’s Café Bar, Dalgetty Bay Licensed Trade Hero 2020 was a brand new category at last year’s Scottish Bar & Pub awards honouring those that went above and beyond during the Covid crisis. Sarah Allan & Jamie Pryce of Hugo’s Cafe Bar & Louie Brown’s Bar Kitchen & Deli, both in Dalgety Bay, walked away with this award. Among their roster of great achievements is their beer garden at Hugo’s Café Bar. What a gem. Spacious and clean, it’s a lovely wee spot with lots of greenery and the colourful outside of the pub with its yellow sign all add to the ambience and there’s plenty of fresh air circulating here to make this a safe space.

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The Fort Hotel, Broughty Ferry Licensee John Black’s outside area at The Fort Hotel in Broughty Ferry is the current holder of the Scottish Bar & Pub awards Kopparberg Best and Most Improved Outside Area accolade. John and his team worked flat out to build it last summer in the former car park as a response to the Covid crisis and the result was a 72-capacity outside space made to accommodate social distancing. Beautiful decking and canopy plus lights and glass panel separators between the tables and flowers and plant boxes for miles are some of its standout features. The flora and fauna truly make this outside area one of the best for miles. It’s also heated.

The Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh John ‘Mick’ McWilliams Edinburgh music venue the Liquid Room has a beer garden and a half - in fact one satisfied customer on its Facebook page described it as ‘the best beer garden in town.’

It’s a walled courtyard with a huge parasol and some attractive lights. It has bench seating and more banquette-style seating too. It looks just as good in the day as it does at night.

The Locale, Glasgow Josh Barr’s first venture without father Colin that he’s leasing from Fergus McVicar has a really interesting and creative look as well as a name, as Josh has christened it a Beer Yard. It really is the jewel in the crown of this place. With a 120 capacity, it was treated to new concrete floors as part of its £100k renovation back in 2019 as well as lots of other works such as updating the terrace area, which is now enclosed, complete with heaters. German-style beer benches in orange really pop, plus there are BBQs, fire-pits, and lots of plants.

Pear Tree, Edinburgh The Pear Tree has a huge outside area with over 50 benches and 260 capacity and an equally as ginormous TV screen. This 18th-century pub is still a big hit with customers from students to locals and this is one beer garden that will have less of a job to keep customers what the government tells us has been decreed by science a safe distance apart.

When it opened in July last year after lockdown, customers were greeted at the entrance with a digital temperature check and then shown to a table where there was a QR code waiting and instructions on how to use the order and pay app. It was developed at the time by Jay Glass of parent company Caledonian Heritable.

Angels, Uddingston The Lisini Pub Company refurbished a few areas in four of its venues in October last year – including the outside area of Angles in Uddingston. They wanted to create a third space outside with its own bar to replace the temporary one, complete with app ordering to minimise queues. So that’s exactly what MD Lisa Wishart and sister Siobhan Edwards, Lisini’s Marketing and Purchasing Director, did. The jewel in the crown is the bar designed by Frank Adams. It combines cut glass inside, cork, a living wall of fresh mint. Also looking good is all the new seating, including higher tables, and while this area looks fab during the day, it looks magical in the evening because of the creative use of lighting.

172 The Caird, Dundee Jimmy Marr’s Perth Road Pub Company operates the 172 at The Caird and late last year financial pressures caused by Covid-19 forced his tenant-landlord to hand back the keys so Jimmy took back the running of the bar and restaurant himself. Ahead of the reopening, Jimmy has installed marquees for the beer garden and customised 10 pods – wooden, covered style picnic benches to seat six – to allow customers to stay dry when sitting outside. The patio area at The Caird is a real suntrap and has some stunning scenic river views.

DRAM MAY 2021 21

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estaurateurs and hoteliers Tony Conetta and Mario Gizzi of The DRG Restaurant Group are known for aligning their high-end concerns with the times, and they’ve pulled it off again with the refurbished Amarone in Edinburgh. It reopened on April 26 and what a transformation folks.

DRG has 20 restaurants and a boutique hotel in its portfolio and just to set the scene for you, Amarone Edinburgh is on St Andrew’s Square within the art deco Capital Building, slap bang in the heart of Edinburgh’s shopping and central business districts, and just a stone’s throw away from the likes of Harvey Nichols. The new-look, plusher Amarone doesn’t look out of place one bit in this exclusive wee corner of the capital.

One of the key aspects the refurbishment celebrates is the beauty of what is a sizeable space and perfect for social distancing because there’s an airiness to the ground floor

complete with its raised area. There’s also a private dining room in the basement called Vault.

The outdoor terrace has been significantly upgraded too. It’s been extended, and is now covered and heated.

So what’s new about it? Six-seater round booths, arched passageways that lead into their own respective spaces, plus the glazed orb lighting that’s jewel-like as it hangs dazzlingly in the main dining area complete with its nine-metre domed ceiling. The beautiful wooden floors, sumptuous booths, grand pillars, marbled wall panels, and pictures are other highlights.

The majesty and grandeur of this space are further accentuated by what they’ve done with the gantry and the fact that it now mirrors the front-facing period arcade windows. It looks so at home in this beautiful setting they could have always been there.

Responsible for some of the lighting installations was Tom DRAM MAY 2021 23

Adam of Elkis Lighting. He said, “I did the track lighting, LED tape, and gantry lighting. We worked with the design team and what a great team they were to work with, always striving for excellence. I have to say, the communication was great from start to finish. They wanted to create a dramatic dining experience and that’s what we did, chiefly by being a bit experimental and using versatile quality lighting.”

The metalwork is likewise something to write home about.

Concept Metals Director Andy Duncan did it and he said, “ It was fantastic working with DRG again. They always go above and beyond with everything they do and the metalwork really does sing and adds to the overall design which I have to say is absolutely outstanding. The dark wood and satin finish brass are classic looking and I was really pleased with the end result.”

New decor, furniture, and lighting should all contribute make the Vault private dining room the go-to for customers looking for that special occasion or meeting.

The furniture is the combined handiwork of CCP and Lecs Upholstery and it just screams quality.

CCP owner Darren Rogers said, “We’ve worked on about nine projects with DRG and they’re always a complete pleasure to work with. From the original design to making the concept a reality, communication never faltered and I

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really like their forward-thinking approach and the fact that every single design is different. What set this one apart from the rest were the new chairs and bespoke options.”

Lecs Upholstery Director Lorna Phillips added, “We provided the fluted fixed seating with vertical panels on the backrests and there were some interesting types of upholstery in a selection of fabrics and real leather. We’ve worked with DRG several times in the past and it was great working with them again. They are always so professional and easy to work with.”

The last word must go to the two guys whose brainchild it was, DRG co-directors Tony and Mario.

Tony said, “Mario and I are so pleased to be able to constantly improve and nurture our brands according to what the customer enjoys, working with rock star teams behind the scenes including interior design, marketing, not to mention our chefs and e-commerce team who’ve worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic.’

Mario added, “The entire team has been so overwhelmed by the positive reactions from customers to the design improvements we’ve made. They are nothing short of stunning, but it’s always great to get that validation from our customers when we have all worked so hard. The terrace extension looks out of this world and will allow us greater flexibility in the future, plus the whole look and feel of the design is just so sympathetic to art deco Capital building.”

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Proud supplier to Amarone Wishing everyone in the trade a successful re-opening period.

TEL: 01698 727 777 www.dunnsfoodanddrinks.co.uk

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ur cover this month features some very well known faces in hospitality. They are all part of a campaign thought up by Graham Chalmers of Radisson Red to remind customers to be kind to hospitality staff. #bekindtohospitality is trending across social media channels in a bid to remind customers that staff too are under a lot of pressure. Perhaps we should also be putting out the message #pauseb4posting because we have all done it posted a throw away comment and before you know folk are upset. If there is anything this pandemic has taught us it is to be kind to each other.

I can’t believe that we are heading towards the summer and next month we will have some big news - we’ve all changed the way we are doing things and last year we took our awards online, this year we are doing something a wee bit out of the ordinary too. Here’s a wee clue... but put the 7th September in your diaries.

We are all waiting with baited breath to see the outcome of Sasha Lord’s JR. We will update you online as seeon as we have any news. Meanwhile the NTIA are seeking permission

too for a JR...

It was great to see the pubs and bars busy again, albeit the weather could have been a bit kinder. But on a positive it meant that staff had an opportunity to settle in. But now please let us have some decent weather so we can have a good summer.

I remain dismayed by the lack of clarity around guidance. It WAS great news that weddings were being allowed... what is not great news is that, as we went to press, there was no definitive guidelines. Brides and grooms don’t know what to expect. What they can or can’t do? Come on... enough is enough.

It is rather ironic that the V&A in Dundee is celebrating nightclubs - when there is no indicative opening date for these much loved venues. Well I suppose the exhibition will bring back lots of great memories.

DRAM DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING PUBLISHED BY MEDIA WORLD LIMITED t: 0141 01560 600585 e: news@mediaworldltd.com w: dramscotland. co.uk Publisher Susan Young • Editor Jason Caddy • Advertising Nikki Oji • Admin Rebecca Or The publishers, authors and printers cannot accept liability for errors or omissions. Any transparencies or artwork will be accepted at owner’s risk. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder and publisher, application for which should be made to the publisher.

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