CELEBRITY CHEF: WE MAY GO BUST

SCOTS celebrity chef Nick Nairn revealed his new restaurant is at risk of going bust just two weeks after it opened due to coronavirus.

The 1-year-old opened Nick’s on Henderson Street in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, to rave reviews last month.

A short walk from his home in the town, it is his first venture in more than a decade and had been touted as a ‘family restaurant’, opening seven days a week.

But the former Ready Steady Cook regular yesterday said government advice on social distancing had seen cash flow dry up with an 80 per cent drop off in turnover.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland yesterday, the father of one said that running the business under restrictions brought in to prevent the spread of the coronavirus was ‘unsustainable’.

He said: ‘We had taken over an existing restaurant, invested a considerable amount of money, put a huge amount of effort into training a team. We opened up two weeks ago to rave reviews, we were trading exactly where we wanted to be, we were extremely pleased with how it was going.

‘Then Sunday we saw a flattening and then Monday, nothing, after the Government advice for people to stay away from restaurants. We can’t keep this going.

‘The business is in dire trouble and we will not be able to continue trading with this level of business.’

The chef, who also employs his son at the restaurant, said it was now down to five days a week but was offering a free soup service to those self-isolating.

His plea comes a day after the UK Government announced a bailout for Scottish businesses.

He added: ‘There is money available but what we don’t know is where is that money, how can we access it and can we access it in time to save our business?

‘I have no idea how we are going to access this money but it needs to come really quickly. We cannot continue to do this without some sort of financial support.’

Two years ago the chef announced the closure of his Aberdeen pizza restaurant and neighbouring cookery school, citing a downturn in the local economy due to low oil prices as the main reason or the closure.

‘The business is in dire trouble’