Restaurant is forced to the wall by damp Owner’s business dream in tatters after disastrous closure
AFISH restaurant in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has been closed by its founder just months after opening after she claimed the building had been hit by damp.
Sarah Thornton, 44, said she was “devastated” at having to shut down her dream business.
She began work to turn the building at 19 Pitsford Street, Hockley, into a restaurant in April last year and opened to the public in August.
But she has not traded since just before Christmas, despite Fishylicious ranking 244 out of 1880 restaurants in Birmingham on TripAdvisor.
Ms Thornton blamed damp for the decision and said: “It’s heartbreaking. We took it on last year, but when the weather started turning, the building did as well. It would be dangerous for customers to eat here, especially as it has affected the kitchen.
Having signed a ten-year lease on the building, Ms Thornton said the matter was now in the hands of her solicitor.
The caterer used to manage city pubs the Craven Arms, near the Mailbox, and The Lord Clifden, in the Jewellery Quarter, before deciding to use her passion for fresh fish to go solo.
“The cost of trying to make the building usable again would be a lot more than £10,000,” she said.
“I’ve been told that all of the plumbing, electrics, alarm and CCTV would have to come out for work to be done and then it
Sarah Thornton
would all have to go back again.”
Ms Thornton, who employed three staff, first realised there was a problem last September.
“I started to notice there was something wrong with the chimney breast,” she claimed.
“Every time we tried to do any repairs, the damp would come back through and the damp is now affecting all four walls in the restaurant and kitchen.”
She added: “I served the last meals on December 23. I didn’t want to be open over Christmas because you can’t get fresh fish.
“But before that the business was strong and getting better. I couldn’t risk the restaurant being closed on public health grounds, so I went to the city council and told them I was closing and why – the worst thing would have been for them to come and close me down.”
She added: “Now I’m stuck and having to pay for things like insurance and my car with no income from the ”restaurant.
“Even if work started today, it would be four months before we could reopen and it would be like starting all over again a year after starting the first time.”
Ms Thornton attended Bartley Green Girls’ School before working at TGI Fridays on the Hagley Road.
A mixture of theatre, retail and estate agency jobs follwed and eventually led her into the pub trade via the Actress & Bishop.
“Because this building was so new, I was assured it was sound,” claimed Ms Thornton.
“I didn’t have a full structural survey done as I would have done if I had been buying it and not leasing.
“We spent almost £10,000 on the kitchen alone and even made our own tables by recycling Jewellery Quarter roof joists.
When the Post contacted building landlord, Umar Ahmed, he said: “The matter is in the hands of my solicitor. It was an empty commercial building ready for rental.”
The closure of Fishylicious comes just after the 120-cover Le Monde fish restaurant closed in Brindleyplace at the end of 2016.
Le Monde’s director Bob Norton said a number of factors had affected his business, including not having the economies of scale of a chain and trying to compete with fast food outlets.