As many as 29 bars and pubs close their doors every week in Britain. With the potential for uncertainty over Brexit to speed up the process it’s important to understand the changing culture concerning bars and restaurants in Glasgow.
Pollokshaws Road in the Strathbungo area of the Southside has seen it’s share of changes with the introduction of the hip Rum Shack, The Bungo, The Salisbury and Lebowski’s South.
Yet some long established bars and restaurants have managed to endure with some adapting to new trends while others have their weighty reputation to thank.
One pub in particular, The Allison Arms, has been extremely astute in its approach to new clientele and has managed to retain its sizable regular customer base while also showing flexibility within a transforming neighbourhood.
Manager Babs Steel has been with The Allison Arms long enough to witness the transformations in the area and credits the pub’s adaptability to their continued success. The bar already boasted a unique range of German beers in standalone fridges but she also was able to see what trends were coming more locally. She said:
I was looking at ways to improve things so we extended our range of double fridges and started to experiment by bringing in craft beer and things. Word started to spread that we had lots of different offerings, such as hard-to-get German beers. People seemed to really like it, especially those with beards!
As these changes have occurred so also has the area become more desirable place to live and socialise. Despite the inevitable influx of hipsters and their new stylish hangouts, one establishment, Heraghty’s Bar, stands impervious to change and as a totem of the area’s past.
With it’s ornate and earthy exterior it reminds many of Glasgow’s proud traditional pub culture and a refusal to bend to faddishness.
Local Iain Wallace has found Heraghty’s a refuge among these new and often more expensive bars. He said:
“I’m happy that the area is looking better and places are doing good business but sometimes I feel like no provision is made for people like me.”
“As these new places spring up and rent goes up in the flats it’s people like me that get pushed out. I can pop into Heraghty’s and The Ally Arms for a pint but in the rest I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb.”
Babs Steel admits it’s been a difficult balancing act to get right with respect to keeping regulars happy while also attracting new customers; however it’s one she feels they have ably managed. She said:
“This is a pub for everybody. I’m not saying we’ve got it perfect but since word of mouth has spread we’ve become much busier. I’ve even noticed that our original idea of having a double fridge stocked with German beer has spread to other pubs as well which is a compliment to us. We’ve managed to create a unique experience for all of our customers.”
Photographs by Peter Steele
Related: The Bars and Restaurants That Thrived During the Transformation of Finnieston