THE Scottish hospitality industry is not being given the “respect it is due”, a veteran Glasgow publican has declared.

Billy Gold, owner of the long-established Hielan Jessie on the Gallowgate, spoke out as the pub trade comes under fierce pressure from soaring costs, sparked by the surge in energy prices in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The industry is facing uncertainty and further costs with the imminent introduction of a deposit return scheme, and in city centres trading is challenged by a dearth of taxi drivers and disruption to rail services arising from strike action.

Industry figures have also hit out at proposals by the Scottish Government to further restrict alcohol advertising and marketing, which it is claimed will be detrimental to the development of new brands.

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Mr Gold, whose family have owned the Hielan Jessie since 1985, said the hospitality industry is not given enough respect as an employer and contributor to the economy.

“We make city centres, towns and villages attractive places,” he said. “We often are the last man standing in some places, after the Post Office shuts and the bank shuts. Where do you go to shoot the breeze to with your nearest and dearest or your neighbours or people in the same street?

“The only place that is left is your local pub or maybe your local restaurant and café. I’m not advocating that everybody goes and drinks alcohol to excess every day. Places like hospitality generally – we are often the last place that is left in a district.”

Speaking to The Herald, Mr Gold said he has adopted every cost saving measure imaginable to combat the increase in overheads he has seen in recent months. He said the rise in costs has been so steep that it is impossible for a business like his to plan ahead, adding that there is a limit to how much he can pass through to customers in the form of higher prices.

READ MORE: Renowned Glasgow restaurateur calls for city to embrace hospitality

He fears Scotland is in danger of losing the independent businesses that the hospitality industry is renowned for.

“This is what really worries me: independent cafes, bars, restaurant, they are either contracting, cutting back their hours or shutting up completely,” Mr Gold said. “The bigger operators might be able to mitigate some of these big increases or might be able to absorb them.

“If Scotland starts losing the independent restaurants, the independent pub owners… our city centres and high streets are going to be a lot poorer for that. And [then] they become less attractive to locals and visitors.

"In Glasgow city centre, if less and less independent operators survive, I think some people will think: ‘what is the point? This place is just like a big identikit jungle.’ The independent businesses added together generate huge amounts of money and tax, just the same as two or three big places.”