Deli owners buy nearby Salcombe restaurant

AA Restaurant Guide as "one of Salcombe's best-kept secrets" - has been sold to the owners of a nearby gourmet delicatessen.

The restaurant - which won two AA rosettes and an entry in the Michelin guide within the first two years of trading - has a prime waterfront location at 42 Fore Street in the South Devon resort and sailing centre of Salcombe, which is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It occupies part of the ground floor on the garden level of the former Salcombe hotel, which was built in the 1890s and now serves as luxury apartments, and has panoramic views across the estuary and bay.

The 75-seat restaurant with 30-seat patio terrace comes complete with private mooring and a car park for the owners.

The new owners are Richard, Julie and William Bouverat, who run the Salcombe Delicatessen at 52 Fore Street. They intend to trade the restaurant as Dick and Will's Waterside Bar and Brasserie with a New England theme. They plan to extend the opening hours and offer an all-day meu of snacks and meals.

The Exeter office of Christie + Co sold the remaining 13 years of the lease off a guide price of £110,000 on behalf of Neil and Jane Storey. Annual rent is currently £13,000, with an additional management charge of £8,500.

By Angela Frewin