A Glasgow bar has been forced to announce it will close its doors for the final time due to soaring costs.
Marmalade Skies in Merchant Square will have its final days of trade this weekend before shutting down on Sunday. The venue was opened in November 2021 by partners Nicholas Hay and Grant Cameron who wanted to bring a New York-inspired bar to the city centre.
However, due to the rising costs they face, they have decided it is time to close their doors, saying their cost base is "astronomical".
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Speaking to Glasgow Live , Nicholas said: "Me and my partner Grant launched in November 2021, less than a year and half ago.
"In Nov 2021 when we opened, we thought we were coming out of covid, then Omicron came around and people were told not to go out if you wanted to spend Christmas with your family.
"From day one we did struggle and almost everybody who had hard Christmasses before were hoping for a great one and didn’t get it. Being new, we didn’t have a customer base but with the location, being part of Merchant Square, we were hoping for having great footfall and sales to see us through the quieter months in January and February.
"Over the last year and half, we have built a loyal customer base but we’ve just not been busy enough, we’ve just not got the numbers, the sales. One thing I would say is the cost base is just so astronomical - our rents, we have rent plus - a service charge because o fate heating, lighting, courtyard.
"As a business, we separately pay for water, for our rubbish to be collected, so that all adds on, then add to that the electricity - our July August September bill was £6,000."
Nicholas said he had mixed feelings of both disappointment and relief connected to the closure due to the pressure they have been under for so many months.
He added: "My uncles were in the trade and you heard the stories of them all working together and it was good fun and exciting and as a child it filled me with excitement and wanting to do this. When me and Grant opened, it was a dream come true. In some ways a weight’s been lifted and at other times we’re gutted."
Marmalade Skies will open for the final time on Saturday and Sunday in Merchant Square in Glasgow's city centre.
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