From the pub sign at Eglinton Toll, I have one question for anybody taking over the Star Bar: will the regulars still be able to afford their dinner? We can discuss the exciting new chapter after the soup. I have yet to meet a human who was nourished by a concept.

G12 Leisure, owned by Jim McLaughlin, expects to complete its takeover by the end of October. The pub is to keep trading during the handover, with investment in the building and more evening entertainment planned. McLaughlin promises that the regulars and the three courses from £6 are staying. That is a reassuring place to start. Six pounds elsewhere can disappear before you have negotiated whether the coffee comes in a cup.

The lunch matters because this is somewhere people belong. In Greater Govanhill's 2024 interview, manager Andrea spoke about customers in their eighties, familiar faces whose grandchildren now came in, and the community that had kept her there for 45 years. You do not build that by issuing everybody with a loyalty app and calling them valued guests.

One regular, Tony, described coming for dinner and his newspaper, and phoning Andrea during the lonely days of the pandemic. Once, he called to ask her to put his fish on because he was running late. She was on a beach. After decades of service, the woman should at least be allowed to get sand between her toes without remotely supervising somebody's lunch.

That is the character I want protected. The striking old tenement can look after the photographs; somebody still has to look after the people underneath it. An affordable hot meal, a familiar welcome and company are not quaint little extras. They can be what makes a day manageable.

I want the investment to succeed. Give the building some care, put on the music and keep the doors open. Just remember that a pub can acquire better lighting without acquiring a menu that requires the regulars to consult their pension forecast.

So I am holding McLaughlin to his welcome promise, with every hope that he delivers it. Keep the lunch affordable and the room recognisable to the people who already love it. Glasgow has plenty of places that can describe an experience. This one puts dinner on the table. I would like that useful distinction to survive the handover.