Shore foundations
Tim Butler, director of the Seafood restaurant, St Monans, tells a good story about his first meeting with head chef Craig Millar. "I asked him to come to the restaurant for an interview," he says. "At the time, though, I had a tummy bug, so I wasn't feeling very good. We talked about our ideas and I asked Craig to cook some fish - he made turbot, I think. I ate some, then promptly ran to the toilet and threw it up. I came out of the bathroom wiping my face and said: ‘You're hired!'"
The year was 1998 and marked the beginning of a successful partnership at the 40-seat restaurant in Fife, Butler's family-owned business since 1993. By 1999 the restaurant had gained two AA rosettes plus numerous awards and accolades. Today it boasts entries in the Good Food and Michelin guides, has maintained its rosettes and was awarded, last week, the AA Scottish Seafood Restaurant of the Year award for 2003.
Millar and Butler, now partners in the restaurant's parent company, Roybridge, are embarking on a brand new venture down the road from St Monans, in St Andrews, golf Mecca of the world. The 60-seat fish restaurant is due to open in mid-December and will offer a modern fine-dining experience to some of the 600,000 tourists who visit the town each year, as well as the members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, whose headquarters will be a mere 50 yards away.
Location
Butler had been looking for the right location in which to open a second restaurant for more than three years when he found the Pierrot Pavilion, once an outdoor theatre, overlooking St Andrews beach. A small block of a building, it had been a tearoom for many years before falling into disuse.
The partners' landlord is Simon Littlejohn, original founder of the Littlejohn's restaurant chain in Scotland who, along with a partner, has sunk £400,000 into the new building, designed by architects Pask and Pask. The 25-year lease will cost Butler and Millar £150,000, while annual rent is £40,000 with five-yearly reviews.
The rent and lease costs are steep, Butler concedes, but he thinks the location alone is worth the price. "They made a lot of our advisers gulp, but the site is unique in a very special town - barely 80 yards from the 18th hole of the Old Course, the Mecca of golf," he says. "The influx of visitors is huge and they are all ABC, top-spending people. Most people are of the opinion that there isn't any fine dining in this town, so we're filling a gap."
Security for the company's £150,000 bank loan comes from the St Monans restaurant, while £24,000 was invested by Millar in order to become a director in Roybridge. They'll also be using ongoing profits from St Monans.
At this stage the St Andrews pavilion is no more, having been taken back to its foundations. The finished building will combine glass, light, elegant lines and spectacular sea views.
Millar had a "blank canvas" on which to design his ideal kitchens - one below the dining room for cold starters and desserts and a hot open-plan theatre kitchen, which will sit in the centre of the restaurant. Butler, on the other hand, is thinking front of house: Charles Rennie Mackintosh dining chairs in Japanese beech with linen-covered tables.
Next visit to the Seafood restaurant, St Andrews: 28 November
Adopted Businesses
Caterer has "adopted" a cross-section of hospitality businesses, which will be visited in rotation every six weeks.
They are: Epicurus at the Leather Bottle, Blackmore, Essex; the Cottage in the Wood hotel, near Penrith, Cumbria; Nottingham City Hospital; Percy's hotel and restaurant, near Okehampton, Devon; Strawberry's@the Doll, North Shields, Northumberland, and the Seafood restaurant, St Andrews.
The Seafood restaurant
The Pavilion, Bruce Embankment, St Andrews, Fife
Estimated opening: Mid December
Opening times: seven days a week for lunch and dinner
Seats: 60
Staff: seven chefs and five full-time front of house, plus part-time
Projections for first year
Turnover: £800,000
Wages: £20,000
Net profit: £100,000
