The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
William and Lynn McCord at their pub, the Muirs Inn in Kinross, where they were forced to stop serving complimentary stovies to customers after being told it breached Tier 2 Covid rules. Picture by Steve Brown.
The owners of a Kinross pub were told they broke strict coronavirus rules by serving free bowls of stovies and oatcakes.
The complimentary platefuls were put on the menu at the Muirs Inn so regulars could drink at the bar rather than outdoors.
Owners William and Lynn McCord thought the offer would support their business at a time when they are struggling to make enough to pay staff wages.
The deal was shut down in less than 24 hours after someone complained to Perth and Kinross Council.
Mrs McCord said: “We got a phone call saying that what we were doing wasn’t allowed and we had to stop.
“It seems a bit unfair. Maybe Covid knows if you haven’t paid for your food.”
Kinross is in Tier 2, meaning alcohol can only be served indoors if accompanied by a “main meal”.
The council said alcohol should complement the meal, not the other way around.
Mrs McCord said they were simply trying to make the best of a bad situation.
“We just thought it would be a good idea to offer a free bowl of stovies with a couple of drinks to our teatime regulars.
“We serve food in the restaurant and anyone can eat in there and have a drink with their meal, but we wanted to have something for people who just want to spend a bit of time in the bar.
“We were really trying to get the right balance.
“It’s not like we were encouraging people to go daft or anything, it was just something that would let the folk come and have their pints at the bar, rather than making them sit outside.”
Mrs McCord said trade has been tough.
“It has been difficult, I’m not going to lie,” she said.
“We are barely making enough to pay the staff but we are just trying to keep going.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokeswoman said: “We understand the difficulty facing businesses.
“The recent change in legislation means alcohol is an accompaniment to the meal, not the meal as an accompaniment to the service of alcohol.”
Meanwhile, as Dundee enters the first weekend under the T ier 3 res tr ic t ions , many “commercially unviable” bars will remain shut.
David Glass, president of Dundee Licensed Trade Association, who also owns
Doc Ferr y ’s bar, said: “Generally speaking, for the long term everyone wants to make a go of it but a lot of businesses are closed just now.
“We do food, soup and sandwiches , and we thought we could probably muddle through this and just serve food with coffees and soft drinks.
“But when we sat down and thought about it, it wouldn ’t have been commercially viable.
“We’ve been closed for a month. We’ ll use the furlough; it’s been a lifeline, a confusing one.
“We employ 10 in total including some part-time staff and we’ve been able to hang on to everyone, so we’re going to ride it out in November and see what December brings.”
Jimmy Marr, director of the City Centre Pubs group, said all his venues are closed and added: “I think there’s more pubs closed than open at the moment.
“There’s not a lot of business out there.
“By the time you factor in your costs, that you’re only open to six o’clock at night with no alcohol, it’s not enough.”
Paul Water son, spokesperson for the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said bars in Tier 3 are struggling to open.
He said: “It’s all about viability. Many people are saying it’s totally unviable in city centres.
“There will be restaurants that are very popular and they can trade away to six o’clock, but they’re the exception.
“Hotels are particularly hard hit because there are no residents and you can only serve residents after 6pm.”