A Tyneside tech entrepreneur and a leading chef have joined forces to create a new restaurant group, with plans to open a raft of regional venues.
Chef Nick Grieves is days away from opening Ophelia in Gosforth, a new sister venue to his popular Jesmond venue The Patricia, which has already garnered rave reviews from peers including the likes of Simon King and Terry Laybourne, following a week of launch events. And the French-style neighbourhood bistro – based in the former M Steel Cycles shop – is set to be the first of several new foodie destinations Mr Grieves will launch, alongside business partner Dan Smyth.
While Ophelia is just opening, the pair created new company GRDY Restaurant Group in October 2021, a number of years after Mr Smyth, a frequent diner at The Patricia, told of his ambitions to invest in hospitality, having spent his entire career working in the tech industry. Mr Smyth founded gaming studio Bede Gaming in 2012, growing it from a one-man operation to a multimillion-pound turnover business and major employer in Gosforth.
