North-East entrepreneur Tom Maxfield has `reluctantly` put his Newcastle restaurant Fisherman`s Lodge on the market to concentrate on the spa business he set up with his wife.
Maxfield, who bought the 60-cover restaurant in †2000, is selling the leasehold for £80,000 through Christie & Co.
Brent Smithson of Christie & Co`s Newcastle office said: “Tom and Jocelyn Maxfield have operated Fisherman’s Lodge for over nine years and in that time have built up its reputation as the best known restaurant in Newcastle. They are reluctantly selling the restaurant to concentrate on other business commitments.
“This is an amazing opportunity for an established operator or first time buyer to acquire one of the region’s best known businesses.”
Last year Maxfield sold Seaham Hall in County Durham and The Samling hotel in Cumbria to luxury hotel group von Essen. His company`s other Newcastle restaurant, Treacle Moon was sold in 2007 to David and Jane Kilburn, who re-opened it as Prickly Pear.
Fisherman`s Lodge, situated in a wooded vale in the well-heeled suburb of Jesmond Dene, serves British food made by head chef Ashley Paynton.
The Maxfields continue to run their Serenity in the City spas in Newcastle and Edinburgh.
Von Essen buys Seaham Hall
Tom`s Companies, striving for quality