A FAMILY of Midlothian hoteliers will mark a major milestone this month when they celebrate 50 years of owning their hotel.
Grahame Harris bought the Original Rosslyn Inn in 1973, developing the business along with wife Maureen, and continues to be involved with the hotel, which is now run by son Richard, today.
Speaking to SLTN, Grahame said he’s seen a lot of changes within Roslin as well as the licensed trade over the past five decades.
“When we first came there were miners and Sunday was our busiest night,” he said. “That’s all changed now. It’s different now, and you have to adapt.”
Having joined the Scottish Licensed Trade Association in his 30s, Grahame said he learned a great deal from the trade veterans in the group.
“These little bits of wisdom,” he said. “Just their experience. You learn from people’s experience.
“Over the years I’ve known a lot of great folk in the licensed trade and some real characters. And I’ve learned a lot. And now it’s come full circle and I’m the old man at the Licensed Trade Association. I used to be the young man! There’s always a next generation.”
Paying tribute to his Dad’s historic career, Richard said: “There’s people that have been in the trade 50 years, but people that have been in the one venue and opened and shut the doors and continued trading without a day off in 50 years? I don’t know if that exists.
“And I doubt we’ll ever see it again.”
Grahame and Maureen introduced a raft of changes to the offer at the hotel over the decades, including a focus on quality pub food, live music and community events.
And the business continues to innovate under son Richard and his wife, Amy.
The hotel has just purchased a Dutch grand piano and on the first Friday of every month the hotel’s bar will become a piano bar.
“We’re trying different things,” said Richard.
“Not everything works first time, and sometimes things take a while to work, and sometimes they don’t work.
“But it’s about continually trying different things and seeing what your customers want and what they value.”
To mark the family’s extraordinary 50-year stewardship of the Original Rosslyn Inn, the owners have commissioned a series of videos celebrating the hotel, its staff and loyal customers and the local area.
The short films will be released every day on the hotel’s social media channels.
But in addition to celebrating the hotel and its success, Richard said he hopes they also help to promote the importance of hospitality overall.
“I do think one of the things about our longevity is about being valued,” he said. “Because this is a tough industry and there are a lot of challenges facing us all.
“We know how hard it is for the industry, so we’re very much trying to shine a light on the industry as well, to say ‘we need some help for it to be here’.
“Everyone values it – when lockdown lifted, everyone rushed to a pub to enjoy a drink in a beer garden. But if we don’t support [the industry] and we don’t help them these pubs won’t be there to do that.”
