Laybourne cools search for stars
Chef and restaurateur Terry Laybourne is no longer keen to find a building to convert into a fine-dining restaurant to replace the Michelin-starred 21 Queen Street he closed two years ago.
Laybourne shut 21 Queen Street, the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Newcastle and the North-east, because it failed to attractsufficient lunchtime custom.
He reopened it as a 74-seat bistro-style restaurant called Café 21.
Laybourne said if he did find a property to buy as a replacement to 21 Queen Street it would certainly not happen this year.
He said: "I am still half-looking but I am not particularly active. I am heavily involved in what I am doing and it is nice to be in control of my life for a change. This is a new phenomenon for me."
He added: "If something comes along and it is right, we will do it, but it would need to be something very special to get me back into the kitchen full-time."
Last year Laybourne closed his 70-seat Brasserie 21 in Sunderland because he said the bar area had been too big and the dining area too small.
He still owns the 70-seat Café 21 in Darras Hall, near Newcastle, and the 90-seat Bistro 21 in Durham. He is also a consultant for Newcastle United Football Club's St James' Park stadium restaurant.
by Louise Bozec
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 16 - 22 May 2002
