Falkirk bistro does its bit for elderly and vulnerable during Coronavirus crisis

In the last days it remained open before closing its doors to comply with government guidelines, Johnston’s Bar Bistro in Lint Riggs, Falkirk, dished out bowls of steaming hot lamb broth and freshly baked scones free of charge for people who needed – and deserved them – the most.

Owner Chris Johnston said: “We did it to help the elderly people and to give something back to emergency services staff, but now we have had to stop doing it because we had to close down.

“We wanted to try and last until Mother’s Day, but we closed on Friday when all the bars and restaurants were advised to close down. For the last couple of days we have been selling off all the perishable stock in the premises through our social media site to anyone who wants or needs them.”

From last week Johnston’s has been listing the items it is selling at reduced prices on Facebook. They can be purchased for cash and collected – using responsible social distancing measures – at the premises between 11am and 1pm tomorrow.

Stock on sale over the last few days has included the ever popular toilet roll, carrot cake, chocolate hazelnut cake, tablet, eggs, potatoes, bottles of Budweiser, Stella and Magners and many more food items beverages.

The business stated on Facebook it was “heartbroken” to close its doors, but it was doing what was best to protect the health of customers and staff. It also thanked everyone who had helped and supported Johnston’s through the last few weeks.

Chris added: “There is nothing we can do – we closed our doors on Friday and our staff had to finish up and go home. We don’t know at this time if the help coming from the government will cover all our staff.

“Some are on maternity leave and some are off sick at the moment. Now it’s just a case of waiting and seeing how long this lasts.”