Thomson Reuters
- A young restaurant owner is pleading with the public to help keep his establishment open.
- He told Alloa Advertiser he will be forced to shut down unless more people come and eat there.
- The Tartan Rooster has been deeply impacted by a loss of sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A young restaurant owner is begging the public to help him keep his highly rated establishment open.
Jason Lawrence is a former dishwasher who, at the age of 20, took charge of the Tartan Rooster in Kincardine, Scotland, last year. He said he'll be forced to shut down unless more people dine there, the Alloa Advertiser reported.
"Please help us stay open," he wrote on Facebook. "We have over 2,000 likes, we have five-star reviews on Facebook, Trip Advisor, and Google."
"We changed our menu, we reduced our prices, we joined the Blue Light Card," he continued. The Blue Light Card is a discount scheme for emergency workers in the UK.
He added that the restaurant and beer garden was also recently redecorated – but it hasn't made enough of a difference and the Tartan Rooster may permanently close within days, he said.
The climate for business owners in the hospitality industry remains extremely tough, due to the combined toll of the pandemic and labor shortages, both in the US and UK.
Recently, a cafe in Baltimore, Maryland shut down after nearly 13 years in business, due to the labor shortage. Village Square Cafe was the last restaurant left in the Cross Keys Village, per The Baltimore Sun.
As for the Tartan Rooster, Lawrence can't figure out why customers aren't showing up. "It's so frustrating," he told the Alloa Advertiser. "If we were bad I would understand it but our reviews are glowing and we've never had any complaints."
He told the outlet that he never expected to run a restaurant at his age. He said he used to wash dishes just to make extra money after he finished school.
When the restaurant reopened after lockdown restrictions eased in May, he expected it to be a lot busier. He added that even if it does shut down, he knows has done the best he can.