February re-opening for Brighton restaurant Terre à Terre
Owners Amanda Powley and Philip Taylor spent £200k on new equipment for the vegetarian restaurant's kitchen after it was ravaged by fire which started when a pile of tumble-dried tea towels self-combusted.
The pair, who have run the business for nearly 20 years, had initially hoped to open in time for the festive season, but the wait for new equipment and the amount of work involved meant they had to postpone the re-opening until the New Year.
“After 20 years in business it was devastating to find ourselves having to rebuild the kitchen and our business after the fire," they said. "But we have managed to turn it around, improving our facilities and bringing the team together resulting in a common vision of a bright future. In truth it has made us realise how lucky we are."
Improvements
Terre à Terre's kitchen now features new Rational and Garland ovens and a larger cold store. The restaurant area was unaffected by the fire so has remained as it was, although the toilets have been refurbished.
Despite being closed for four months, the 100-cover restaurant managed to retain its staff, who have been involved in some of the refurbishment and planning of new initiatives such as the development of a new website and a swipe active loyalty card.
The restaurant also plans to run a £25 three-course 'Phoenix Bites' menu to entice customers back and to introduce some new dishes to its a la carte menu to sit alongside some of its popular classic dishes.
Powley and Taylor said: "We feel honoured to have retained our full team and are tremendously grateful to them for staying with us and to all our customers and regulars who have been remarkably supportive and joined us on this journey – we look forward to lots of feasting fun over 2013."
