2020 marks 100 years since prohibition began in America – the ideal opportunity for DRAM to profile managers/owner-managers of some of Scotland’s most talked-about speakeasy bars, and today’s the turn of the Manager of The Flying Duck in Glasgow, Craig Tannock…
Belfast-born Davie Campbell, 35, has managed The Flying Duck in Glasgow, owned by Craig Tannock (Stereo, Mono, The 78 and The Old Hairdressers) for five years and you could say that he has come home to roost.
He said, “I came from retail, but I had worked in The Flying Duck a few years before as a steward, so it was a kind of homecoming for me and I was familiar with the place, knew the vibe and the clientele. Working on the door gives you a unique perspective.”
He started as assistant manager and was made manager after a year and he now manages a team of 22. The bar is hidden away down a lane and it relies on word of mouth, but students are also fond of it. Says Davie, “This means we must re-engage with a new influx of students every four years and this requires some social media – it’s a necessary evil.