The closure of this amazing Edinburgh restaurant should worry us all
The Bon Vivant bar and restaurant was the usual venue for Stephen Jardine’s big Christmas night out with two long-standing friends
Christmas is all about traditions. Some are handed down to us, others we make ourselves. For the past decade, one of mine has been a big Christmas night out with two pals I’ve known for nearly half a century.
We eat too much and drink too much and have the same conversations every year. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. It was due to take place last night until an email arrived a week ago explaining our regular venue, the Bon Vivant in Edinburgh, would be closing with immediate effect “as growing economic pressures mean that continuing to trade is no longer commercially viable”.
How on Earth can a hospitality business close it’s doors just before it’s busiest time of the year? It’s a measure of the crisis now facing the sector that even the prospect of a busy December isn’t enough to make the sums work anymore.
This wasn’t some dusty old pub still trying to come to terms with the smoking ban. Opened in 2008 by hospitality genius Stuart McCluskey, it was always packed and won international awards. Stuart sold up in 2023 and this week said: “It’s a shame the new ownership weren’t able to make a go of it. My heart goes out to the staff.”
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High VAT, soaring bills and food inflation
The final blow may have been last month’s Budget. Hopes of a 5 per cent cut in VAT for pubs, bars and restaurants were dashed by the Chancellor despite months of campaigning by trade body UKHospitality. At 20 per cent, the UK has one of the highest VAT rates for the sector in Europe. Next month Germany will slash its hospitality rates to just 7 per cent.
VAT isn’t the only issue. Increased employer costs, soaring utility bills and 3 per cent food inflation have created a perfect storm. An awful lot is riding on this Christmas.
Consumer confidence remains fragile with the Deloitte tracker showing public faith in the UK economy is at an all-time low. That’s where we come in. When was the last time I was in the Bon Vivant? Probably last December so I’m part of the reason it’s gone.
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If you have a favourite bar, pub or restaurant, the message this Christmas is use it or lose it. That doesn’t mean making a New Year resolution to go in more often. The bills won’t wait for that. It means going in this weekend, or next week or sometime soon.
Of course, in a cost-of-living crisis, not everyone can afford much but it doesn’t have to be a blow-out. Every coffee, drink, side order of chips helps keep the business afloat ahead of the long, dark, post-Christmas months.
Doing our bit
Sounds melodramatic? Try saying that to someone in hospitality right now. This is their bleak midwinter and they’ve never had it so tough. At least during the pandemic, they had loans and furlough to see them through.
Now it’s just a torrent of rising bills and additional costs with only you and me between solvency and insolvency.
These are the places we go for birthdays, anniversaries, first dates and just a night off from doing the dishes. So the next time you are swithering about going out, just remember, with your support, your favourite pub, bar or restaurant can be for life… not just for Christmas.
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