FILEY & HUNMANBY MERCURY,
New schemes add all kinds of dishes and drink to restaurant scene
Families and friends have cooked up schemes which add gins, cocktails, pizzas, shakes and soul food to the restaurant scene in Filey. The Boat Shed in Murray Street and Tommy’s in Hope Street have both opened for business to sit alongside a range of eateries serving everything from Spanish tapas to Italian and Indian to Chinese.
Entrepreneur Michelle Burgess opened the Boat Shed six weeks ago with her husband Nick and their friends and business partners Nick and Christina Ingham, who also run
Compass Gym in Scarborough.
Michelle started her business four years ago selling coffee from a van outside Tesco in Filey and later opened the Coffee Shed also in Murray Street.
“What are now The Boat Shed premises stood empty for a year so we spoke to friends about taking it on and they became our business partners,” said Michelle.
“The idea was to give friends a place to go and have a nice drink together and share food.
“We also wanted to keep it in Filey, attract local people and from the camps rather than them having to go to Leeds or Beverley for something similar,” she said.
“From the minute we opened we have had so much support and we have been busy.”
The Boat Shed specialises in gins – from citrus and herbaceous tipples to sloe and sweeter mixes. Nick is the chef and the food menu is mainly pizzas, shares and nibbles.
Michelle has lived in Filey since she was five and went to Filey School. Nick is Filey born and bred. They have two children Harry, 12, and his 10-yearold brother Charlie.
Her extended family – including sister-in-law and nephew – work in both businesses.
Filey teenager Luke Green, 18, has also been taken on as a catering apprentice.
She met Christina at a mum and tots group after she had had Harry and they and their children and respective partners became friends. Christina and Nick Ingham have two children Tiernan, 12, and Caitlin, 10.
“People appreciate that I have gome from standing outside Tesco come rain and shine and progressed to this and have always been supportive.
“I love Filey, it is my home. We are bringing people into the town which is great. Filey is moving on,” said Michelle.
Michelle and her husband Nick have also encouraged Tommy Taylor in his enterprise. He opened the eponymous Tommy’s less than a month ago with support also from mum and dad Peter and Margaret. It is a restaurant and take-away serving burgers with names including the Johnny Cash, Sinatra and BB King and burritos named the Mexican, Beast and Roadhouse.
Soul food favourites include gumbo, ribs and jambalaya.
The bar stems from his love of country music and the Deep South. “We wanted it to be authentic food,” said Tommy who owns the business with his wife Lauren. They and their two children Dylan, 11, and her brother Tommy, 13, are off to Nashville later this year in the name of research. Tommy and Lauren will also play music.
Filey born and bred Tommy was in the band Qwikshift and is now in Firewater Country Band with Lauren, Tim Collins and Simon Quince.
He has always worked as a chef including stints at The Bay and the Star.
He started selling soul food from the back of a horsebox – Lauren owned horses – at food festivals including one in Filey.
“This kind of music and food has always been part of my life,” said Tommy. “Bringing authenticity to Tommy’s means everything to me,” he said.
Tommy’s is proving a hit on Facebook. “We’re very proud of nearly 50 five-star reviews. Every meal, every pinch of seasoning, every moment is cooked with a creative passion and I think it’s showing,” said Tommy.