A tale of haves and havenots, and a clue to the backstory. 

Sidmouth – Rockfish signs lease for new seafront restaurant

New fully-accessible toilets will be managed by Rockfish who will attempt a “sale” and leaseback arrangement of the site to offset costs estimated at £2M. 

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com

The council and Rockfish have signed a lease agreement for the public toilet site at Port Royal on Sidmouth seafront. Planning Permission was granted in June this year for Rockfish to open a new restaurant on the site of the old Drill Hall and adjacent public toilets.

The toilets will remain open and maintained by East Devon District Council (EDDC) until Rockfish works commence in autumn. At that time the existing toilets will be demolished and temporary toilets will be in place until a new separate toilet block opens in December 2024. Managed by Rockfish, the new fully-accessible toilets will be external to the restaurant and accessible directly from the pavement, reducing the risk of antisocial behaviour.

The work to refurbish the Drill Hall and finalise the new restaurant and outdoor seating area is expected to be completed in late Summer 2025. Upgrading the historical building with new modern facilities will deliver an attractive food destination for residents and visitors which will benefit the town’s economy and beyond.

Cllr Paul Hayward, East Devon District Council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for economy and assets, said: I’m excited to see progress towards a new restaurant for Rockfish and welcome their investment in Sidmouth that will create local jobs. It will help to revitalise the east end of Sidmouth’s historic seafront esplanade providing a placemaking solution for this neglected area of the town.

“I’m delighted to report that thanks to a suggestion received from a member of the public, Rockfish will ensure that the benches in the shelter will be relocated elsewhere along the seafront or in the town, in due course.

Mitch Tonks, CEO of Rockfish, said: “With our focus on quality, family and sustainability, we believe Rockfish is the perfect fit for this seafront location. It will provide a delicious destination for people to eat fresh seafood while enjoying the attractive coastal views from this location.

We are investing around £2m in the Drill Hall location and will be creating 30 – 40 jobs. Once the building is developed, as part of our agreement with the Council, we will be looking to “sell” the long leasehold interest in the building by way of an assignment of the lease. At the same time Rockfish will be granted a long lease at current market rent. This sale & leaseback type of transaction is in the normal course of business for a company like ours whereby we recoup some of our investment in return for paying rent.”

Budleigh – Celeb chef’s new café to temporarily close

It does not take bookings and does not have toilet facilities, but there are public toilets provided by EDDC located nearby. (Might be an interesting experience in wet and windy weather).

With claims of being able to seat 60 is this really a good enough tourist offering?  – Owl

Anita Merritt www.devonlive.com

A month after celebrity chef Mitch Tonks arrived in Devon to open the first-ever Rockfish Seafood Café, its temporary closure has been announced. Located on Budleigh Salterton seafront along Marine Parade, the venue opened on August 5.

Local residents were invited to an evening of celebrations with Mitch declaring the café would be ‘a real hub for the community’. Restaurant chain Rockfish submitted plans to revamp the Longboat Café on Budleigh Salterton in March.

Permission was granted in July by East Devon District Council for an extension to the building to create an external dining space with a retractable roof and windows. Since its opening, the café has been operating without a supply of gas so has been serving mostly cold seafood dishes.

It has resulted in it having to close from this Wednesday, September 11, to Friday, September 13, for it to be connected with a gas supply. There are also plans in the pipeline to start work in October to create a conservatory.

In a post on Rockfish Seafood Café’s Facebook page it said: “You may have heard that we’ve been eagerly waiting for September to arrive for our gas connection, so we can serve you the delicious fried seafood you’ve been craving! As we get ready to make this happen, we’ll be closing from September 11 to 13.

“We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”

The café is said to have seating for up to 60 people. On the outside is free still and sparkling water taps as well as a dog biscuit machine for not just customers but also passers-by.

In a walkabout video around the café, Mitch described it as being in ‘the most glorious setting’ and explained more about its covered seating area. He said: “This a temporary structure but it is going to be replaced with a conservatory with a retractable roof in October.

“We have got a log burner in the corner which has kindly been provided by Dean Forge. It’s absolutely beautiful and it’s going to be growing away in the winter months keeping people warm while you’re enjoying seafood with that magnificent view.”

He continued: “We have a tiny kitchen. At the moment we haven’t got any gas but we do have a bit of electricity, so we’ve got mainly a cold menu, a few simply grilled plancha items.

“In September, when the gas connection comes, we’ll be full on frying squid and doing all sorts of wonderful things out there on the beach. It’s so important that every Rockfish becomes embedded in the community which is why we are giving two per cent of our revenue here to local charities.

“We’ve had great support from Budleigh in Bloom, the cricket club and we’ll be supporting SeaChange which we know is something people really, really value in the community.”

The café serves breakfast and coffee in the mornings, with fresh seafood on the menu from lunchtime including local crab rolls, and shellfish, along with cold beer from Salcombe Brewery and a small selection of wines. The café doesn’t take bookings.

It does not have toilet facilities, but there are public toilets located nearby. Rockfish’s planning application cancelled out previous planning permission, granted in 2013, to demolish the site and construct a two-storey building.

A Rockfish spokesperson said: “Rockfish Budleigh Seafood Cafe will be closed from September 11 to 13. During this time, we’ll be completing an important electrical upgrade to three-phase power, courtesy of National Grid, as well as beginning stage one of our gas installation.

“These upgrades are essential for the installation of our brand-new frying range and extraction system. While you won’t see immediate changes to our menu just yet, these improvements will allow us to introduce some fantastic new dishes in the near future.

“Over the next month, we’re excited to expand our menu to include traditional fish and chips and other delicious fried options. We’ve had a wonderful first summer on the Budleigh seafront and can’t wait to share the next phase of Budleigh Seafood Cafe with you.

“Thank you for your continued support; we look forward to welcoming you back soon.”

Topsham – No update on January: Long wait continues for new Devon Rockfish restaurant

January – The transformation of a former French bistro and bar in Topsham into a Rockfish restaurant is said to finally be making progress after more than 18 months since its takeover. For many months, the seafood chain has teased that the new restaurant – situated on the historic quay – will be ‘coming soon’.

Does a peek at the accounts give a clue to the backstory?

Owl is no accountant, and stands to be corrected, but a brief glance at Rockfish Group Limited, Report and Financial Statement 30 April 2023 suggests things might be a bit tight despite posting a turnover of £13.6M.

Cost of sales whittled this down to a gross profit of £8.8M rather less than the £9.3M “administrative expenses” leaving an operating loss of just under £0.5M.

With losses on fixed assets and interest payable of £431K, overall losses for the year after payment of tax amounted to £870K (£0.9M in round figures).

No dividends have been paid. Equity is in negative territory.

Indeed, the report acknowledges this by stating (page 7) that with inflation continuing through 2022 and 2023, it was not the right trading environment to open the three new sites in the pipeline and the Board paused these.

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