A Northumberland-based winner of Come Dine With Me: The Professionals has taken over a second restaurant in Blyth as a response to the cost of living crisis.
Caboose fended off competition from River Beat on Newcastle's Quayside and Savoury Fix from Hetton to win the £1,000 prize on the new format of the popular daytime TV cookery show in early July. But the restaurant's big win on national TV wasn't the only news last week - something that went a little more under the radar was the owners' takeover of another Blyth eatery La Casa.
With the town centre Mediterranean restaurant said to have struggled since it opened in November 2021, La Casa has been taken over by Caboose owners Marc McPake and Michael Kell, who have retained all of the staff working there. Marc says that the takeover not only a response to the cost of living crisis for the staff who work there, but also for the people of Blyth, with the aim of offering a more budget-friendly offering than seafood restaurant Caboose.
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Marc said: "We want to have a footprint in the town in Blyth and be a bit more accessible to people but one of the biggest drivers is making sure we've got something to offer people with different levels of disposable income and budget. We recognise that there are affluent areas in Blyth and a cost of living crisis so people's available cash is going down.
"We're community driven and community centred. A lot of the people who maybe had a budget to come out with their partner for a meal, they don't have that £100 because it's costing them more to heat their home, buy fuel and feed themselves, so maybe they only have a lesser budget now, but people still deserve a night out and we want to give them that.
"It could just be let's go out for a meal and a couple of drinks, and they could come out of La Casa and not be feeling the heat and hugely out of pocket."
While Marc describes Caboose as a 'destination' venue, La Casa is hoped to be somewhere that people might go to on the way home from work or if they're out and about in Blyth. Serving Italian and Greek food, including pizzas, souvlakis and steaks, its menu is less high maintenance in terms of the chefs, service and ingredients required, meaning that customers will end the night with a smaller bill.
And after the takeover earlier in July, Becky Goacher, who manages La Casa alongside colleague Jessica Charters, says that Marc and Michael's arrival has given the staff a lift. She said: "It's had a positive impact on the community and for the staff to keep their jobs since the cost of living has gone up so much is hugely important - especially when you have a car to run as well!
"It's had a positive impact on the community too, it's just somewhere people can come and enjoy themselves and it's lovely they don't have to travel for a meal. And Marc and Michael are great, if we need something they are always here straight away and you can tell they care about their team."
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Just three days after Marc and Michael became the new owners of La Casa, they featured on Come Dine with Me: The Professionals. And Becky admits it was quite strange to see her new boss on national TV.
She added: "It was quite strange but nice as well. It was weird seeing them on TV, we were watching it in the restaurant with the customers and everyone who came in got free fizz. It was lush!"
Despite taking over La Casa, Marc says that the restaurants are struggling with the cost of living crisis. He said: "Basic things that people don't really think about are what's hurting us most."
"A barrel of oil used to cost us £21, it's now £52, a block of butter used to be 90p and it's £2.60 now. When you're operating in communities like Blyth, there's a ceiling price that people are prepared to pay, especially if they're going for a night out with their families.
"It doesn't matter what your costs are, if you're going above that, you're knackered. You either have to change your menu or absorb the increase, which is what we're doing. But that can't last forever."
Marc finished by making some suggestions about how the Government could help hospitality businesses, especially those outside of London, saying: "A reduction in VAT would be great like there was during Covid, maybe some sort of help with labour costs because at the same time as everything went through the roof so did the national living wage and minimum wages.
"That's absolutely fine, you've got to respect that people need to make an honest living but when businesses are getting hit from all angels, at the end of the day these people are going to end up with no job rather than a slight increase in their wages because you're going to see a hell of a lot of people losing their jobs. I think the government have been short-sighted in how they've handled this - their heads are focused on Westminster so they tend to overlook some of the regional politics or decisions that need to be made on a regional level.
"I don't want to sound like a broken record but the last couple of years have been tough, not just for us but for our staff too - without the staff you've got nothing and these guys have had a rough time. But at the minute, there's a really good feeling at both Caboose and La Casa and when they can see a place getting busy again, it gives them a lift which is great to see."
Did you see Caboose's performance on Come Dine With Me? What did you think? Let us know!
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