A Plymouth city centre restaurant has found a way of battling back from the coronavirus downturn - by building a huge extension.
Chef Fletcher Andrews has invested in his Fletcher’s eatery a stone’s throw from the Theatre Royal Plymouth, in Princess Street.
Unable to operate during the lockdowns, as the restaurant is fine dining and doesn’t cater for takeaway trade, Fletcher and his father Martin Andrews decided to upgrade the restaurant, investing in a new bar and creating the conservatory-style extension.
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That has allowed them to add 16 socially-distanced covers and bring in a baby grand piano, a much-admired feature of Chloe’s, the restaurant that previously operated in the space before it closed and .
“We took advantage of lockdown and built much of it ourselves,” said Martin. “We were close for all the first lockdown and because we had the renovations going on did not open until October.
“We were then closed again for the second lockdown. It’s been hard. But we have built a new bar and extension at the front.
“And Chloe’s always had a baby grand piano, and it was always our intention to have one, and now we have the space for it.”
Martin said the idea of putting an extension on the front of the building, on the ground floor of the Gill Akaster House office block, had been around for a while, but the Covid crisis accelerated plans, especially as it had to reduce the number of covers from 34 to ensure social distancing.
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“We have lost covers inside and so we were almost forced to put the extension on the front,” said Martin. “We had plans to do this anyway, but it brought them forward.”
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Fletcher’s has also created a new menu, including a vegan section. A high-flyer on Tripadvisor and listed on the Trencherman’s Guide to the best South West restaurants, it was opened by Fletcher and his partner Jess Harkom, with help from Martin, Fletcher’s sister Tolon Andrews and her boyfriend George Roberts in 2018.
Fletcher was formerly head chef at the prestigious Treby Arms, at Sparkwell on the edge of Plymouth, and has brought in three of his former colleagues from the former Michelin starred establishment, which closed in 2019.
The Treby Arms had become famous after executive chef Anton Piotrowski won TV’s Masterchef competition.
“It’s like we have a Treby Arms in the city now,” said Martin. “It’s all the team from there apart from Anton.”
Still aged just 25, Fletcher is now leading one of the youngest teams in the Plymouth dining scene. He trained at City College Plymouth and worked at a number of top Plymouth restaurants, including the New Continental Hotel, Morgan’s and the Mission before becoming sous chef at Treby, progressing to head chef.