The directors of Tyneside fish restaurant Colmans have outlined their plans for an al fresco new seafront attraction due to open in ideal time for summer.
Richard Colman and Dominic Colman Ord, from the award-winning family business, are busy with preparations for the outdoor bar expansion at Colmans Seafood Temple in South Shields which is set to increase capacity and take full advantage of good-weather trade. And it's all about giving customers of the restaurant in Sea Road - which includes a cocktail and oyster bar - more of what they want.
Richard said: "The plan is to bring the vibe we are getting in the temple. We are getting fantastic summers so we want to expand outside so customers can enjoy the weather and an al fresco experience where we'll be serving the likes of oysters and hand-made cocktails.
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"We're looking at increasing the capacity of the outside area for about 30 more guests - quite a large amount of covers." Currently the area outside the unique-looking seafront restaurant has seating used by its takeaway customers but the plan is to now make use of the space at the front of the temple, the original bandstand, and make it "a really nice area to eat and drink".
They want to increase the overall visitor experience and Richard adds: "We're giving customers what they want." The temple, whose accolades include being named one of the UK's top 10 fish and chip restaurants, is hugely popular with lovers of fish and seafood and its supportive customers proved quick to return following the pandemic lockdown. Now, despite the current cost of living crisis, business remains good and the outdoor bar no doubt will boost it even further.
Building work is expected to get under way in a week or two and brothers Richard and Dominic hope to have the bar open by late April to May. They offered a sneak peek of how it will look by sharing a computer-generated image on its temple's Facebook page.
Among the responses from followers were "It looks fantastic, can't wait to see it finished"; "Can't wait it looks amazing" and "Ooooh that looks lovely!". Other comments about the news included "sounds wonderful" and "fab idea".
The final result also will include glass screens so that customers enjoying the sun can also have shelter. Once it is established, the intention is to then expand the menu to include small seasonal plates at a later date, such as sharing seafood dishes and sliders.
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