Good morning. Welcome back to Survival Guide. Isabella here.

As if we weren’t already being hit left, right and centre by the cost of living crisis, it turns out our curries, kebabs and chips are also at risk.

In 2023, at least 2,240 restaurants shut their doors. If the big places are struggling to survive, what about those outlets we walk past every day? Many of our favourite local restaurants are fighting to continue in the crisis.

Big Issue reporter Greg Barradale went under the grill at high-street kitchens to take the temperature. In today’s newsletter, we meet Maz, chef at a Turkish restaurant in North London, to chat about how he is coping as costs surge.

Greg also headed to a curry house, kebab and fish and chip shop to find out how they are getting on.

It is not just restaurants feeling the pinch. Music venues are also facing difficult times, and The Big Issue has been reporting on those which are fighting for survival and relying on a vibrant community of music-lovers to keep their doors open. Find out how you can get involved later on in this newsletter. 

And finally, even though the hospitality industry faces such challenges, some restaurants are offering free and £1 meals for kids over the half term and beyond. Read to the end to find out how to nab those deals…

If you have a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

Maz’s story: ‘It’s like getting slapped around constantly’

“I was brought up pretty much all my life in hospitality. Naturally you learn, you help your parents over the weekend,” says Maz Demir. 

Demir is the executive chef at Skewd, a Turkish fine dining restaurant in Cockfosters, which sits at the suburban northern end of the Piccadilly Underground line. 

Growing out of decades of family businesses, including a kebab shop in London, the restaurant is now pushing boundaries and winning awards.

But it faces plenty of challenges. Take rising costs: a tub of butter went from £38 to £157, and overall produce costs have increased by around 30%. Demir, along with everyone else he knows in the hospitality trade, is signed up to a payment plan for energy bills, thanks to soaring prices. 

 “How do you bear that cost any more, because it’s a very hard industry as it is?” he asks.

“It’s like being slapped around constantly. You don’t get one slap, you’re slapped left, right, right left, it baffles you. You get dazed. You wake up in the morning, you think, what is the future? What does the future hold?”

Greg also met those heading up a curry house and a fish and chip shop – read the story here. And if a good old kebab shop is more to your liking, meet the owner of Archway Kebab and the alliance fighting for the future of the doner.

In case you missed it

‘Everything is set up for families’: The true cost of being single in a cost of living crisis. Bills can mount up quicker if you’ve chosen to go it alone rather than with a partner. Here’s the story.

Landlords to get £70bn in government housing support. Here’s how that money could be better spent. The housing crisis is costing billions of pounds in subsidising private rents – six times more than ministers are spending on building affordable homes. Read about it.

Raising state pension age to 71 would be a ‘big blow’ and risks ‘working people to death’, experts say. With a rapidly ageing population, state pension age might have to be increased to keep the balance of taxpayers to retirees. Find out more.

UK is ‘failing’ children as death rates rise, poverty surges and health declines at ‘alarming’ rate. Children’s health is only going to get worse unless action is taken, researchers have warned. Read about it.

Tories unveil plan to make UK ‘most accessible place in the world’ – but does it go far enough? Campaigners say the “proof will be in the pudding” and “it doesn’t matter how accessible you make the country if disabled people can’t survive the winter”. Get the story.

Household support fund’s end would be ‘devastating’: ‘We’re planning for the worst’. The fund is currently set to end in March and will have a detrimental impact on those living in poverty. Discover more.

‘It’s a lifeline’: MPs urge government to help families in crisis and continue household support fund. Conservative MPs are among those who have joined charities in calling for an extension of the household support fund. Read about it.

Homelessness at heart of councils’ £4bn funding black hole, MPs warn: ‘It’s an out-of-control crisis’. Finances are “out of control” and the cost of homelessness could make councils go bust, according to the Levelling Up Committee. Get the story.

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Venue Watch: The Big Issue campaign fighting to save grassroots music venues

Grassroots music venues are at the heart of their communities and vital for the future of music in the UK. These venues offer employment to tens of thousands of people. Incubators of talent, they play a vital role in securing the future of music and UK culture.

But they are under threat. In the last 12 months, the UK lost almost 16% of its grassroots music venues. The Big Issue is doing something about it with our Venue Watch campaign, supporting and championing venues across the UK.

In our first few months of the campaign, we have sadly lost two of the fantastic places featured in our weekly spotlight. Moles in Bath and London’s Matchstick Piehouse are both no more. 

It was supposed to be curtains for the Phoenix Cultural Centre too. In October, the community space that houses Woking’s only grassroots music venue, Fiery Bird, received a shock business rates bill. They owed more than £300,000. The first repayment of £61,000 was due imminently.

There was no way they could pay. Not only did they face closure but also legal action over the debts they’d unknowingly racked up. But the team refused to give up and – with the support of Venue Watch – that bill for hundreds of thousands was overturned.

“This is a big win for us, and for community groups who utilise spaces to make social impact,” chief executive Elaine McGinty said. “It removes the need for us to defend ourselves in court against the bill which will now be adjusted and backdated correctly.”

You can get involved in helping champion grassroots music venues across the country. Sign up to be part of The Big Issue’s Venue Watch campaign to get regular updates and tell us about your favourite music venue here.

Saving those coins: Where to get free or £1 meals for kids this half term

Half term is next week for many schools across the country! As with all school holidays, it comes with extra costs – free school meals aren’t on offer in many areas, and there’s the added expense of childcare which can be extortionate.

Plenty of restaurants and cafes are offering deals for kids over the half term (and beyond), so you can bag a meal for your child for £1 or even for free. 

Bear in mind that at many of these, you’ll have to buy a full meal for yourself, and that can sometimes come at a pretty penny. But it’s a good way to keep the kids entertained and it should still work out cheaper than your usual family meal.

Our top recommendations in terms of affordability are Ikea, where your child can get a meal for 95p without you buying anything for yourself, and Tesco Café, where you’ll just have to buy any item along with your child’s meal.

Find the full list here.

If you’ve spotted anywhere near you that is offering free meals for kids, let me know at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com and we’ll add it to our growing list.