GLASGOW’S hospitality sector has reacted to the news of a 10pm curfew being enforced nationally this Friday – the beginning of the September weekend.

There appears to be mixed emotions to the news which means that all bars, pubs and restaurants will have to close at a certain time.

With some premises thankful they are still allowed to remain open others say the new rules are a “devastating blow” to the sector with some bosses warning a curfew would exacerbate lockdown 'bad behaviour' with no track and trace at house parties.

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Mike Grieve, managing director of the Sub Club in Glasgow and chairman of the Night Time Association Industries Scotland, said: “We absolutely respect the need for public health to be the number one priority, but these measures simply don’t make sense. The evidence is clear. The main transmission mechanism is in the home – not in hospitality settings.

"As the only country in the world with a complete ban on music, Scotland’s worldwide reputation for atmosphere in our bars, restaurants and venues is already threatened with extinction.

"We predict that these latest restrictions will drive more people behind closed doors for unregulated illegal gatherings and crowded house parties. Meanwhile our sector is left abandoned.”

Despite the restrictions, Waxy O’Connor’s in Glasgow is still taking bookings for the September weekend. Staff are hoping people will continue to come and enjoy a drink at their venue.

One member said: “At this point a 10pm curfew won’t really affect us. We tend to get quieter at the time as a lot of people are heading for a train because everything is already closing early.

“I don’t know how this curfew will affect people’s attitude’s coming up especially with pay day coming up. We still have a lot of bookings and no one has cancelled yet.

“It is hard to keep up with all these restrictions, but I think they will have a bigger impact on restaurants with late sit-ins than on bars.

“It will be interesting to see if the rules will be enforced by police or by the council’s licensing board. We were anticipating a 10pm curfew we are just grateful we aren’t closing altogether.

“Not being able to play music and having to mute sports games has really affected us. Football fans aren’t able to come and watch the game standing. It is a different atmosphere for a sports bar and I can’t see these restrictions coming to an end any time soon.”

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Stephen Montgomery, spokesman for the Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG), warned the decision would be a death knell for many businesses.

He said: “We are now staring into an abyss. A national curfew on Scotland’s bars, restaurants and late-night venues will have a critical impact on those crucial later trading hours.

"Many of us are already trading at a loss and some members estimate that they will see their turnover plummet by more than 25 per cent with the new measures.

“There is a real concern that the hospitality industry is being singled out for restrictions with very little evidence to support a link to coronavirus transmission.”