Ryans sell Bistro on the Bridge

Chef David Ryan and his wife Sheila have sold their Bistro on the Bridge restaurant in Christchurch, Dorset, for an undisclosed sum two years after launching it as a sister restaurant to their phenomenally successful Bistro on the Beach in nearby Bournemouth.

The restaurant was not on the market, but it is understood the couple were approached by Prezzo restaurants, established by Phillip Kaye, father of Ask Central's founders Adam and Sam Kaye, which recently bought the Old Manor House restaurant in Romsey, Hampshire, from Mauro and Esther Bregoli. "We were made an offer we just couldn't refuse," Ryan commented.

Sheila added: "It was hard running two busy restaurants and keeping the personal touch. We were working 24/7 and we've built up such a reputation at the Beach over the years that people were always disappointed when we weren't on site, either at the Bridge or the Beach. So when we were approached to sell the Bridge we decided to go back to concentrating on one restaurant and get a bit of balance back in our lives."

The Ryans invested £675,000 in the purchase and refurbishment of the site of Bistro on the Bridge, which they opened in the autumn of 2000. Bistro on the Beach opened in 1995 on Bournemouth's Southbourne beach and quickly established itself as a destination restaurant.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 19 - 25 December 2002