Popular High Street bar calls last orders
The award- winning, family-run Quaich Bar on Crieff’s High Street closed its doors for the last time on New Year’s Day.
Owner Burton Millar described the move as “a very difficult decision”, coming off the back of a good year for the business.
He explained: “I bought the bar in 2013 as a semiretirement project and with some anticipation of the downturn in the oil industry, which is the major part of the company which owns The Quaich.
“However, the company has not experienced the expected reduction in its service operations in Aberdeen and we have been awarded another contract which will take us well into 2019.
“With no slowdown in Aberdeen and no retirement now on the horizon, I had a difficult decision to make.
“It has been really tough on the family to run all parts of the company effectively so something had to give.”
The bar had been marketed for sale or lease for over a year.
Mr Millar said: “We would have loved for someone to come and capitalise on the business we have built.
“The bar was completely refurbished after we bought it and it looks great, a real asset to the High Street.
“We get great Tripadvisor reviews and attract tourists as well as locals, resulting in yearon-year growth.
“But banks aren’t lending money for pubs at the moment and interested parties have been frustrated in their attempts to get finance.”
Mr Millar is keen for the pub not to become another empty property on the High Street.
Plans have been lodged with Perth and Kinross Council for a change of use for the premises which would bring it more in line with the company’s other business interests.
The owners have said they would still be open to offers for the business in the lead-up to the planning bid being considered.
A scoping study by the Scottish Government on the country’s pub sector has underlined the challenging conditions currently faced by the sector.
The report showed that there has been a 23 per cent drop in pub numbers between 2005 and 2015, with on-trade sales of alcohol dropping by 30.4 per cent. The number of pubs trading in Scotland in 2015 was 4550.
The report highlighted some of the main challenges facing the pub sector, with the impact of drink- driving laws cited as having a “predominantly negative” effect.
Mid Scotland and Fi f e Conservative MSP Liz Smith said: “There are rural towns with just a post office and a pub to serve the local community.
“The viability of these places is under threat if the local pub follows the bank branch and exits the high street.
“Rural pubs need the support of government and it is disappointing to note the negative impact changes to the drink-drive law have had on this sector.
“Helping rural pubs with business diversification support could ensure that they are able to meet these challenging circumstances and survive for the next generation.”