From Monday, pubs and restaurants will be allowed to serve alcohol indoors in all areas of Scotland, apart from Moray and Glasgow, until 10.30pm. Cate Devine finds out how the pandemic has helped some independent family restaurants seize the initiative from the big chain restaurants RESTAURANT chains come and go in normal times but the effects of Covid-19 have been exceptionally devastating for hospitality. Some of the best-known restaurant groups are feeling the pinch or facing closures and redundancies. As more people worked from home in a bid to contain the spread of the virus and many offices, galleries, libraries, cinemas, theatres and concert halls remained empty or operated at vastly reduced capacity, city centre chains suffered from lack of footfall – while local or neighbourhood independents appear to have a better chance of thriving now lockdown restrictions are easing.