Japanese restaurant and bar Mikaku’s 30-day campaign is giving customers 20% off their bill throughout the month and is looking to raise awareness among the city’s population for supporting local independent venues.
Mikaku’s director Nathan Sparling says that the restaurant is facing unsustainable pressures that go far beyond footfall, including high costs, unreliable public transport, and city centre parking struggles.
The recent rise in employer National Insurance Contributions is tipping the balance for many independents like Mikaku, he says.
“We’re lucky to have an incredibly supportive landlord and a brilliant community around us. But the rising cost of simply existing as an independent hospitality venue — especially in the city centre — is now overwhelming.
“This campaign is about more than saving one restaurant. It’s about fighting for culture, creativity, and fair opportunity in Glasgow.”
As part of the campaign, the restaurant is calling on Glasgow City Council to do more to support hospitality venues, by increasing footfall, improving public transport links, addressing city centre parking challenges, and recognising the role these venues play in Glasgow’s social and economic fabric.
It is also urging both the Scottish and UK Governments to implement what it says are ‘meaningful policies’ that support hospitality — particularly around employer tax burdens, energy costs, and long-term investment in the night-time economy.
It comes as recent data shows that between March 2020 and the end of 2024, Scotland experienced an 11.9% decline in licensed premises, reducing the total from 10,541 to 9,283 venues.
Additionally, a survey by the Scottish Licensed Trade Association found that 6% of Scottish licensed hospitality venues are contemplating closure due to escalating costs and economic uncertainty.
The same survey reveals that 80% of respondents anticipate a decline in the Scottish economy.
The restaurant is one of a number of businesses introducing discounts to encourage trade. This month Wildwood and Dim T restaurants are offering customers 50% off food and drink, up to £10 per person, every Monday to Wednesday, in a repeat of the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme that it ran after the first lockdown.
In London, Jeremy King has introduced a ‘night owls’ discount for late night diners across his two restaurants in a bid to encourage people to eat later. Diners who book from 9:15pm (9pm on Sundays) at The Park and 9:45pm (9pm on Sundays) at Arlington will receive 25% off the total bill until Tuesday 30 December.
Mikaku’s 30-day campaign begins tomorrow (11 April).
