West End restaurant closes less than a year after opening as owner cites 'struggling' hospitality sector
The West End restaurant proved popular but that still was not enough to keep the doors open
An owner has made the “hard” decision to close his West End restaurant less than a year after opening, due to the intense financial pressures facing the industry.
Campbell Duns was “gutted” to shut Evergreen Bar & Kitchen’s doors for the final time a couple weeks ago after spending years pouring his “heart and soul” into the project but said he could no longer see a future in an increasingly “struggling” hospitality sector.
The basement restaurant on the corner of Alva Street, which Mr Duns renovated with the help of his father this time last year, was routinely packed full of customers and was starting to generate a profit.
“It was not that we couldn’t attract customers, the worrying thing is that we could attract a lot of customers but there’s still not enough money to be made and that speaks to the wider hospitality scene at the moment,” the 28-year-old said.
He added: “If food costs rose you could probably absorb it, or if electricity or gas or water rose, but the problem is the rise is across every single sector and you get the brunt of all those things which doesn’t make it attractive to be in the industry.
“Hospitality is one of those sad industries where a lot of people are very passionate about it but you just look at it from a business perspective and go is it worth the hassle.”
The entrepreneur from North Berwick worked as head of marketing for London-based cocktail bar Ballie Ballerson whose Edinburgh location was forced to close in 2024 despite turning over 60 grand a week.
Ballie Ballerson blamed the closure of its Edinburgh branch on rising operating costs, the cost-of-living crisis and debt built up during the pandemic.
Mr Duns said the hospitality sector was also particularly impacted by the UK Government’s decision to lower the National Insurance threshold to £5,000, which left Evergreen increasingly relying on part-time rather than full-time staff members.
According to Mr Duns, the off-the-beaten-track restaurant was already struggling to pull in passers-by when they were told to remove their signage from the above-ground railing.
He said: “You’re in business to make money as much as others might want to sugar-coat it as anything else, you’re there to make money alongside fulfilment and the passion for the industry.
“Top end restaurants are making three to five percent profit so when you look at the rest there needs to be some leeway in some areas if the industry isn’t going to continue to decline whether that’s from the council or the government but nobody’s willing to offer that support at the moment.
Despite having been in the industry since his student days, VAT, National Insurance and the cost of operating the business would need to come down for him to return to the industry he loves.
Yet, the now-former restaurant owner is not deterred by his “first stab at a business” being over so quickly.
Instead, he has learnt an “astronomical” number of lessons and remains “pretty motivated for the future”.