Merchant Square cocktail bar and restaurant closes after 22 years

Staff at Metropolitan Cocktail Bar and Restaurant have been informed that the venue is to close with immediate effect. The hospitality business opened in the city centre in 2002 and has been owned by Kevin Maguire since 2007. It was one of the longest established bars at Merchant Square.

Metropolitan has been part of the city centre food and drink scene for two decades, within the redeveloped site of the old Victorian Candleriggs market. The bar and restaurant included tables in a covered courtyard, two balcony areas, a private dining room and a ground floor terrace facing onto the street.

The venue had regular pre-theatre and a la carte menus for afternoon and evening dining. It catered for private events and small weddings.

The company that previously operated The Metropolitan, M-City Bar & Restaurant Ltd incorporated March 2002, is subject to compulsory liquidation. A winding up order was granted on 7 August 20023 and the company has not filed accounts since 2022. It was latterly operated by parent company Linn Investments.

Speaking to GlasgowWorld, the company said the closure was due to a “‘perfect storm of factors including the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, increasing and unsustainable rent, rates and energy costs, and the fallout from the Covid pandemic which continues to have a devastating impact on the sector.”

Metropolitan owner Kevin Maguire is a veteran hospitality figure in the city who, since the 1980s, has played a role in a number of key projects including the re-development of Merchant Square itself. He told me: “Despite concerted efforts on our part to engage in constructive negotiation with representatives of Merchant Square, it was made clear that we had no choice but to take this difficult decision.

“First and foremost, I am absolutely devastated for our dedicated team whose hard work and commitment has made Metropolitan one of the city’s most popular venues. It is heartbreaking that so many negative factors have come about at the same time making it impossible for Merchant Square’s flagship and arguably most recognisable outlet to remain viable.

“Merchant Square in general and Metropolitan in particular have been a huge part of my life and that of my team for many years so as you can imagine, to now be in this position through no fault of our own, is disheartening to say the least.”

Merchant Square had been in discussions with the venue regarding the terms of the lease, which had been renegotiated during the pandemic, before the decision was made to close the venue.

Julie Edwin, spokesperson for Merchant Square, said: “Metropolitan has been a tenant at Merchant Square for many years and an integral part of the Glasgow cocktail and dining scene, contributing to Merchant Square’s unique identity. Merchant Square has been going through a number of changes in recent months, welcoming vibrant new tenants to the Square as we respond to what customers now want. We therefore look forward to continuing to embrace and welcome new operators to Merchant Square as the offer continues to grow and evolve.”