Former workers at The 13th Note cafe in Glasgow have announced their intention to take over the closed venue and put it "back into workers' hands".
The venue has been the subject of a bitter industrial dispute in recent months, with members of the Unite union taking industrial action over pay and conditions.
Staff cited health and safety issues in the cafe - which owner Jacqueline Fennessy denied - and The 13th Note was shut down by environmental health in June after mouse droppings were found throughout the food premises.
Union members then voted for a historic strike action, the first in 20 years according to Unite Hospitality.
That action was backed by a number of prominent musicians in Glasgow, including Paolo Nutini and Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai and the first of three walkouts took place at the weekend.
Read More: Glasgow's 13th Note to close after 21 years blaming union 'onslaught'
On Tuesday Ms Fennessy announced the closure of the venue, citing an "onslaught" by Unite "that has caused a drastic reduction in revenue".
The union called that "trade union intimidation pure and simple".
Now the workers of the venue have addressed the closure, announcing their intention to take over The 13th Note.
A statement from the workers, issued by Unite reads: "To close our workplace without even informing those that would lose their job before she briefed the press is testament to the type of employer that we have had to deal with.
"We have negotiated strenuously with the owner of The 13th Note to achieve basic workers' rights, such as contracts, equal pay, and for the health and safety issues to be rectified.
"In our opinion, this is the bare legal minimum that Jacqueline Fennessy should have been doing in the first place.
"As a result we have been left destitute and precarious for simply wanting The Note to be the best vegan and live music venue in Glasgow."
The statement went on to dispute some of the claims made by Ms Fennessy in her announcement of the venue's closure.
Our members at the 13th Note wish to issue the following statement on behalf of +90% of the workforce: pic.twitter.com/L8AMzmPEtj
— Unite Hospitality (@FairHospitality) July 19, 2023
It concludes: "We are the people who have put blood, sweat and tears into this venue, making the owner millions in personal wealth over the course of the last 20+ years, therefore we know the power of workers at The 13th Note and every hospitality venue.
"As we showed at the weekend, without us no point is poured, no dish is served and a not a beat is played without the explicit permission of workers at The 13th Note.
"We know how to run this venue, evidently Jacqueline did not, which is why we will be doing everything in our power, with the support of our union and the wider trade union movement along with customers past and present and the general public to take the venue back into workers' hands."
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