By Amanda Crawford

YOUNG Glasgow revellers are no longer racing to the bar to demand last orders, according to one pub boss.

Daniel Slattery, Manager of Kitty O’Shea’s bar in the city’s west end, reckons pub goers are spending around £2 less per head, per round in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis.

He said: “When I was young when last orders happened, you’d have waves of people going up to the bar to get three or four drinks to carry back to their table.

“Now, you’re lucky if you get two or three people coming up. People are definitely spending less.”

The 33-year-old from Knightswood, has seen his pub through the toughest of times, from opening just four days before the Covid-19 lockdowns to sky high energy bills affecting the nation.

He said the combination has led to changes in people’s drinking habits and that pubs are no longer the main event for many.

He said: “What we have found with younger people is that they tend to drink prior to coming into the pub and they also leave early.

“We seem to be the middle of their night out rather than the main event.”

Despite this he said it is not driving customers away and in fact they are still coming back, but the time and money they spend does not go unnoticed.

Another popular Glasgow bar, Platform, is catering for around 700 every Saturday night, according to General Manager David Carson.

Amid rising prices David is positive that the venue will continue to bring customers through the doors.

He said: “The location, history, size, versatility and architecture of the building… There’s a lot of history to the building.

“Because we are so close to businesses there is a lot of footfall, there is a lot of passing trade and because we are at the train station we are next to transport links.”

Brexit has also posed challenges for the sector however Daniel wants to put those challenges behind the business.

He said: “The effect that Brexit had did put some products up in price I feel as though we’ve come through the other end of that… That has been eradicated.”

Stephen Montgomery, director of the Scottish Hospitality Group and business owner, said: “There are two sides of the fence. Yes it did shorten the market for recruitment, however what’s happened is that instead of recruiting people from Europe we are recruiting people from India.”

Despite the struggles of the past few years, Daniel remains optimistic that the cost of living will improve. He said: “Cider has gone down in price, so it’s an encouraging thought that perhaps some other products will as well.”