The owners of a destination Nottinghamshire restaurant have decided to retire after the impact of Covid and staff shortages made it a struggle to carry on trading. Bruce and Allison Elliott-Bateman have closed the doors for good at the Mussel and Crab, a landlocked seafood restaurant in Tuxford, after nearly 24 years.
The couple waited until the final day before making the announcement, only telling those who had rung up to book. "They were asking what was our last day and saying 'we must come and see you before then' and so the reason we didn't give anyone the heads up was because we'd been here for so long we knew everyone would want to come in and have one last meal and we couldn't have coped with that.
"We wanted to be remembered for the good times rather than them come in and not have a good experience because staff shortages," said Allison, who said the restaurant hadn't had a head chef since November and fewer waitresses since the start of the pandemic.
"For many years the head chef was Philip Wright, who I met in Skegness when I used to work at North Shore Hotel, he was head chef there and he was our best man and stayed with us till around five years ago when he retired and returned to Skegness. We've had a couple of chefs since then but it's not really been the same," she added.
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Another major hiccup was having to close at the 11th hour on New Year's Eve, with the cancellation of bookings for 120 diners, when two chefs tested positive for Covid. Allison said: "We had to close as we were down to two chefs and two chefs can't do 120 people well. We didn't know until the morning of New Year's Eve. They had to isolate for seven days so we closed until January 11. Other people tested positive in that time including myself and the family."
The restaurant specialised in dishes such as Crab Thermidore, Po Pei Mussels, Dover Sole and scallops. Two thirds of the menu was fish and seafood but for those who weren't a fan there other choices such as steak and chicken. Covid took its toll when a supplier on the East Coast stopped deliveries to Notts during lockdown. The restaurant ended up closing during each lockdown of 2020 and 2021, finally reopening on May 17 last year.
"Lockdown was quite difficult - we remained closed because of where we are. A lot of people travelled 20 or 30 minutes to us. The locals did use us but we were more of a destination restaurant," said Allison, adding they were ready for a well earned rest after her recent hip operation while Bruce suffered a stroke four years ago.
"It's taken its toll and at the moment it's so difficult to get chefs. We lost our head chef in November and haven't been able to replace them. We just couldn't find the right calibre of person to work here. We didn't want a pub chef - we needed someone with a restaurant or hotel background and that's basically what's forced us to close really, just the situation with staff.
Allison, 55, and Bruce, 67, took over what had previously been the Royal Oak pub at Sibthorpe Hill, in May 1998 but changed the name and the menu six months later to become a seafood restaurant. "The first two items we put on the menu on blackboards were mussels and crab hence the name. We didn't come here intending to be a seafood restaurant it's just the demand was there," said Allison.
"People asked if we ever got any sea bass or any lobster and we thought there's a demand for fish here. And because we're on the A1 corridor it was easy to get deliveries. After six months the demand was there and we didn't think the Royal Oak was indicative of a seafood restaurant so we changed the name."
The business closed down at the end of March and there's no chance of it being reopened by new owners. The couple live above Mussel and Crab and own the building, so they are hoping to turn it into a bigger home for them and their family. They are applying for planning permission for a change of use to turn the restaurant into a house.
Allison said: "We will miss a lot of customers. It's been quite hard work but enjoyable. We've met a lot of nice people and it's been nice working for ourselves."
