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.
