A popular Italian restaurant which has been closed for 20 months is finally reopening its doors. Dinnerstone, in Uppermill, made the decision to close the shutters back in May 2021, with staff moving to the owner's other business, The White Hart Inn.
After a difficult period that saw the head chef leave and a sous chef falling ill, owners were forced to make the difficult decision to close Dinnerstone, expecting it to only be for a matter of months.
But, as recruiting staff continued to be a real struggle for all hospitality businesses, the Italian restaurant has remained closed ever since, but their sister business The White Hart Inn has continued to be booming, following a temporary rebrand and transformed menu during Covid restrictions.
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Emerging from the challenges of Covid-19, owners have said The White Hart Inn remained 'busier than ever', with a huge backlog of weddings and events booked as restrictions eased. At one point, 11 weddings were held at the venue in just 12 days, which was managed with the increase in staff that had moved over from Dinnerstone.
Head Chef Nathan Sidebottom, 28, told the Manchester Evening News that Dinnerstone will now be announcing its reopening date over the coming weeks. A post on social media revealing the news sparked much excitement from diners.
He said: "It's been quite a journey. The sous chef becoming ill was really the cherry on the cake for Dinnerstone to close. When we came out of the many lockdowns, he didn't return after furlough and the head chef had decided to leave.
"We kept coming up with game plans, but then we decided it would be best to close and move staff over to The White Hart. We didn't think it would have been for this long, no more than six months, but the recruitment never happened because every catering establishment was really struggling."
During the pandemic, with weddings and other big events cancelled, and customers only able to dine with another household or their 'bubble', The White Hart Inn rebranded itself as The Brass Monkey, with the function room transformed into a new, versatile restaurant, complete with an extended menu. This continued until July of 2021, when restrictions relaxed, and the function room was back in use again for weddings and other large events.
"We looked at how we could operate the business to our maximum," Nathan said. "We changed the function room at the White Hart into the restaurant and totally rebranded ourselves, incorporating pizzas and pastas on to the menu."
Nathan will now oversee both The White Hart Inn and Dinnerstone ahead of its reopening. The Italian restaurant announced that its doors would be open once more over the coming months, as they continue to recruit for positions.
"It's something we have spoken about for the past couple of months. We decided to get Christmas out of the way and then start with a blank sheet in 2023 and get the business back up and running.
"We were always busy, and the reaction we have got about us reopening has been overwhelming to be honest."
After the announcement that Dinnerstone would once again be opening its doors on social media, many people commented on their excitement about the news.
"Brilliant, really missed it," one person said, as another commented: "AMAZING news! We have missed you SO much x."
"This is the best news!! Already can’t wait to book a table," wrote another as a fourth person said: "That’s perfect good news for the start of 2023 we have missed Dinnerstone."
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