An Edinburgh bar which has been taken over by new management say they will no longer let in under-25s in order to maintain the pub's reputation within the community.
The previous owner of Porters Bar in the Piershill area of the city decided not to re-open after the last lockdown and instead the bar was handed over to new ownership.
New manager Charley told Edinburgh Live how the pub has decided to become an over-25s only venue after being previously plagued with yobbery.
She told how Porters Bar had a "bad reputation" with locals for being overrun with youths, with some regulars describing it as an underage school disco.
After giving the pub a makeover, the new management wants to attract both locals and clients from the surrounding Meadowbank and Portobello areas.
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Charley told Edinburgh Live: "The reason we did it for over-25s is that the pub had quite a bad reputation before for a lot of fighting and drug abuse and it was predominately the local ‘young team.’
“So we thought we will make it over-25s to try and prevent crime, we thought if we do it over-25s we could even attract some clients from areas like Meadowbank and Portobello."
Charley confirmed that the pub will be asking for ID if they suspect that customers showing up are under 25, adding: “The idea is to try and prevent the crime that has happened in the past.
“Don’t get me wrong if someone who is 23 wants to come in with their dad I’m not gonna say no, but the idea is I don’t want it full of 18-year-olds.
“A lot of the regulars had said before that it was like an underage disco and they didn’t drink there at the weekends because of all the young ones.
“Because of lockdown a lot of people who have turned 18 haven’t even experienced a proper night out yet and the last thing I want is 20 18-year-olds in my pub having their first night out and causing havoc."
Porters Bar opened its door for the first time under new management last Monday and is currently undergoing a full renovation that will be complete by the end of the month.
Charley is looking forward to putting on entertainment at the bar and working with locals to find out what they want from their night out.
She said: “We want to give the whole area a better reputation.
“We will be doing live bands, entertainment, and sports, including a karaoke night every Monday and Friday.
“If the locals tell me what they want we can make it happen.”
