Restaurant, Chippy or take away?

Well where do we start with this?. We have been met over the years with mixed comments about the Diner sit in area, I know everyone has an opinion on how a place should be but the Diner area was never made to be a restaurant, in fact, when I took over the Diner it was a mess!, I bought it in a hurry and instantly thought I'd made a huge mistake. My knowledge lay in take away's pure and simple and that's what I wanted the diner to be. The space that was left, I really didn't know what to do with it but I knew I didn't want the brilliant view to be wasted so this is were "Bob the builder" (my dad) came to the rescue. After long chats and a lot of convincing (and I knew he had the know how as he had fronted the building changes in Mr Chips just a few years earlier) I decided to make an area that people could take their food to eat, a bit like an indoor picnic area. It was a bit of an after thought, granted but people seemed to like it and I've never charged for the sit in area.... so as far as I could tell families that came to Portrush found it easier to let their children eat at the tables rather than trying to find a spot on a bench, the beach or even on the train home .....the thought of food and drinks in an already packed car didn't fill many with glee either, so the tables in the diner just made it that bit easier.

The other thing to remember is that our 'Northern Ireland' weather is not always the most reliable and while a walk on a dry night with a bag of chips in hand is lovely......speed walking with salt, vinegar and rain drops on your chips isn't that appealing!

The Diner has changed over the years, things added things taken away but the principal has stayed the same, although now we have added blow heaters and a door to make it more comfortable during winter hours when we would normally me closed (this is off season and we usually shut the doors for a few months) but now we have decided to see if its a choice people would like to have over the winter months in the Port as some locals call it, we've added hot drinks, toasties and some sweet treats.....all going down a storm thankfully. So is it a restaurant? Definitely not, but it has never aspired to be, its a space that we hope people can use as they please when the take away is not enough alone, its a space that locals and holiday makers alike can shelter from the rain with our lovely Easter and summer weather, its a space were parents can bring their children to make life just that little bit easier on a day out to the seaside and its a place were workmen, pensioners, after schoolers and mid week strollers can stop for a coffee and a snack while taking in the views out across the Atlantic. So you see the space that I started out with, the space that I thought was going to be a pain and utterly useless, has turned out to be a great asset not just to me but to all the people and families its served over the years. Its been a space for me to go to focus during hard times with voices of loved ones and friends that worked on and in the building, helping to steady me, taking me back to happy memories. You see as I've said before it takes more than one person....and that lesson alone has been enough to teach me not to judge a book by its cover, it may not be a restaurant but its so much more than just a take away.

#budget #burgers #restaurantortakeaway