SUCCESS IS ON MENU FOR RON
Rocket doing the business
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN knows his way around a table – and now the ‘Rocket’ wants to open a chain of restaurants.
The 46-year-old is still hungry for snooker trophies and is bidding to equal Stephen Hendry’s record of seven crowns at the Betfred World Championship this year.
After 30 years in the professional game, world No.1 O’Sullivan’s appetite is as keen as ever and he is locked in battle with John Higgins in a glamour Crucible semi-final.
And it is O’Sullivan who takes a 10-6 lead into today’s concluding two sessions, boosting his chances with a big steal in the final frame of the day on a re-spotted black.
He earlier made breaks of 73, 99, 91, 55 and 70 against an out-of-sorts Higgins.
But with merchandise flying off the shelves in his new shop in the Meadowhall shopping centre, O’Sullivan believes he also has the recipe for off-table success.
Scot Higgins has already demanded that “there needs to be haggis, neeps and tatties” on the menu.
And O’Sullivan said: “I have a feeling the shop is just going to be the start of it. I’ve got a vision of what I want to do.
“That’s probably to have my own Ronnie O’Sullivan sports bars at some point. They would have a restaurant in there with some good food, some pool tables and just have a lot of sport on the TV.
“I love my food and I love my sport. You start off little and then once you get into it, different sorts of conversations start arising.
“That’s what I’m really excited about, the bigger picture stuff. If people want to have a night out they will have great food, a great night and watch some sport.
“I have a vision and I know what I want to do. The shop has done well and we could be upscaling that.
“The T-shirts and the hoodies have gone really well and I said that it had to be good stuff.
“I always say we have to make anything good value, because people spend their hard-earned money and that’s what I want for them.”