By Ian McConnell
GLASGOW restaurateur Marco Giannasi has declared “there are no words to describe our happiness” after his Battlefield Rest bistro won a “best lockdown team of the year” award.
The Battlefield Rest on the south side of the city, which is owned by Mr Giannasi and his wife Yellena, won the category in the Scottish Virtual Restaurant Awards this week.
Welcoming the news, Mr Giannasi tweeted: “We just found out that we are Winners of ‘Best Lockdown Team of the Year’. There are no words to describe our happiness and so proud of our team.”
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In March, the restaurateur expressed his happiness he has managed to retain all of his staff, and declared it “feels like waking up from a bad dream”, as he looked ahead to reopening on April 26.
The Battlefield Rest operated a takeaway service for its loyal customers at weekends through lockdown, creating a hatch for this.
READ MORE: Glasgow Battlefield Rest : Restaurant boss expresses happiness at having retained all of his staff
Asked about the importance to him of retaining all staff amid the Covid-19 crisis, Mr Giannasi told The Herald back in March: “Obviously the responsibility – you can feel the responsibility, for all those people working. Everyone was depending on what our decision was. I have managed over a year so another month or two is nearly there.”
Flagging reserves built up before the pandemic, while noting the costs of paying national insurance and pension contributions for furloughed workers, he said in March: “The business has been supported over the full year from what we have done in the past.”
The Battlefield Rest, which opened in 1994 in a B-listed former tram station building, employs 16 people in addition to Marco and Yellena Giannasi.
Mr Giannsi in February announced he was embarking on restoration works costing more than £100,000, while highlighting his hopes of realising his dream of installing a recreated 1920s tram carriage next to the bistro.
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