Double Delight for Best Bar None Glasgow Winner

One of Best Bar None Glasgow's 74 gold award winners had double cause for celebration when he collected the Scotia Bar's prestigious trophy.

Training and support from the charity, Springboard, helped Iain Houston into the hospitality industry after a nine month struggle to find work.

Now a trainee supervisor in The Scotia, Iain was thrilled to take to the stage at the Grand Central Hotel and accept a gold award on behalf of the premises.

A raffle and charity auction at the presentation ceremony raised £3,237 for Springboard - a charity which helps young people achieve their potential and nurtures unemployed people of any age into work. Earlier in the evening, guests watched a video featuring people helped by the charity. Eagle-eyed attendees spotted Iain on screen, talking about the support he received before he took to the stage to lift The Scotia's award with manager Hannah Tallis.

Twenty-four year-old Iain from Castlemilk said: "It was a privilege to collect the award on behalf of the bar. I'd never considered a career in hospitality before getting involved with Springboard but their training and placement made me aware of the possibilities. Now I love my job - I get to talk to all the regulars and the tourists that come into the bar. I learn a wee bit about their cultures and teach them a bit about Scotland.

"I'm training to be a supervisor and there is scope for further progression within the company.

"I've never been to an industry event like the BBN Glasgow awards before. It was great to meet lots of other people in the trade and hear about their careers and premises."

A record number of 89 premises entered this year's awards which recognise work done to enhance public safety and customer care by licensed premises in the city.

As well as the 74 gold awards, 14 venues won silver awards and one picked up a bronze.

The Overall Gold award winners were The Garage (Late Night category); the University of Strathclyde Students Union (Specialist Venue category); the Crystal Palace (Standard premises category); The Mailcoach (Community Pub category 1); McNabbs (Community Pub category 2); Croft Bar and Restaurant (Restaurant category) and the Blythswood Hotel (Hotel category). Winner of the People's Choice award was The Piper Bar and the finalists were The Dram and 26 Hope Street.

Eleanor Lee of Community Safety Glasgow which runs Best Bar None Glasgow, said: "This year's BBN Glasgow awards were fantastic. We have a record number of entries and the highest number of gold awards achieved so far. This testifies to all the training and hard work being done in premises across the city.

"Guests at the ceremony were very generous and raised a large donation for Springboard. All the winners were worthy, but it is especially heartening to hear Iain's story and how he is doing so well at The Scotia thanks to Springboard. All the money raised will stay in Glasgow and be put to good use helping other people into employment."

Best Bar None Glasgow's partners include Glasgow City Council, Glasgow City Alcohol and Drug Partnership, Community Safety Glasgow, Diageo, Heineken, Chivas Brothers, Tennents, MolsonCoors, Maxxium, Darwin Creatives, the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, Safer Scotland, Police Scotland and Scottish Fire & Rescue Service.

Find out more about BBN Glasgow at www.bbnglasgow.com

Further information on Springboard is available at https://springboard.uk.net/