17-05-2025
'Absolute genius': Glasgow restaurant gives 'parking tickets' out
The Vault, a new Turkish-fusion food hub that opened eight weeks ago, deployed the clever tactic to cars across the city.
Southside locals, in particular, panicked at the sight of a yellow square on their windscreens.
Speaking with the Glasgow Times, Hassan Qasim, 24, explained the inspiration behind the idea: "I was looking for a way to promote the restaurant, and I don't really have a marketing budget.
"The first thing that came to mind was just to do flyers, and then I was like, but everyone does like flyers in the menus, like through doors.
"So, I thought, how can I make this more interesting? And I thought about the new parking on the pavement ban."
The Vault in Giffnock's clever 'parking fine' flyer (Image: Supplied)
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Under the new powers, penalty charge notices can be issued against vehicles parked on the pavement on some of the city's streets.
To be in breach of the rules a vehicle would have one or more of its wheels touching the pavement.
The ban came in on January 29 this year and began to be enforced from February 28.
The fines are £100 but cut to £50 if paid within two weeks.
Hassan capitalised on the new scheme with a particulate focus on the Southside: "There's been a huge increase in people getting tickets in the southside recently, so I jumped on that.
"I printed off 6,000 fake parking tickets, which contain information about the restaurant - we've already worked through 1,000 of them."
"We generally head out after 10 pm when no one is around, and they discover it on their car in the morning."
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One local saw the funny side, they commented on one of The Vault's posts: "Here from a post on the Shawlands page about the 'parking ticket', absolute genius move!
"Got everyone talking about your restaurant, I'm booking for this reason only."
Another was quick to heap on praise: "Brilliant advertising at Silverburn on every car .. dropped a swear word then found it ingenious."
'Absolute genius': Glasgow restaurant gives 'parking tickets' out (Image: Supplied) This is Hassan's first venture into business, and he said he was nervous about how people would react, but says it's been 'mostly positive'.
He said: "It's been mixed, on my own pages it's been pretty good and loads of people have been saying that they're booking us because of it.
"Some people think it's a bit of a laugh, but others didn't see the funny side.
"There were quite a few one-star reviews on Google, but they've been taken down now."
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The gamble has clearly paid off for the fledgling business, as Hassan proudly stated that the restaurant was fully booked this weekend.
The Vault is located on Fenwick Road and offers bring your own bottle with no corkage charge, but Hassan told us that he's waiting on an alcohol license being approved.
The Turkish eatery serves traditional dishes but also offers fusions, such as bao buns and tacos. They've also just launched a takeaway menu.
Hassan also wanted to offer something to anyone who'd had a scare: "For anyone that's had a parking ticket, if they bring it with them, they'll get 10% off—my way of saying sorry for any panic caused!"
