Caterer and Hotelkeeper – 6302
Epicurean on the move
PAT MacDonald this week confirmed he is moving his Epicurean restaurant from Cheltenham's Hotel On The Park to a grade II-listed building in the town centre.
He will also open a 40-seat brasserie, a café/wine bar plus a private room, all in the same four-storey Regency premises, previously used as offices.
Mr MacDonald, who gained a Michelin star in this year's guide, told Caterer he hoped to open the new restaurant in late summer. In April he and his wife Claire will have spent three years as tenants of the hotel.
"We want to make progress. The new building isin a prime site and the brasserie will enable us to offer the same quality of food at a lower price than in the restaurant," he said.
He added that business in the brasserie would bolster the restaurant's quiet weekday evenings. But he stressed that the restaurant menu would remain the same, with only the interior decor being updated. All existing staff are to be retained, and others are currently being recruited.
Darryl Gregory, owner of Hotel On The Park, said he would be advertising for someone to replace Mr MacDonald, but not necessarily a Michelin star holder.
