After careers in the nuclear sector and retail David Owen and Emma Brown decided it was time to do something different after snapping a former HSBC/Midland bank site on Anglesey.
The couple spotted a gap in the market for good wine and tapas food and opened up The Midland in Beaumaris in 2016.
It was an instant success and accolades and customers have continued to flood in - including actor Stanley Tucci and Cold Feet star James Nesbitt.
This saw them open a second restaurant in Conwy a year ago and that site has proved another hit.
Their next venture saw them open Mercado by the Midland - a Mediterranean style deli that combines Welsh produce with a dash of the Med.
They now employ 34 staff with them keen to raise the profile and status of hospitality jobs.
David, 41, said: “I was 20 years in nuclear - first on Wylfa and then Trawsfynydd.
“I had some experience in hospitality, I used to manage the bars in the Bulkeley in Beaumaris when I was 18. I have also always been into my cooking.
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“We knew there was a gap in the market for tapas, it was an emerging trend from the cities so we jumped on it.
“I always liked that type of food - out in big groups having bits of food, it is a real social experience.”
They initially bought the building - the former Midland/HSBC as they saw it as a “good opportunity”. After work perfecting their wine and tapas idea they opened the Midland in July 2016. David said: “It was an instant success and Conwy has matched that in its first year.
“Beaumaris gets fantastically supported in the local area. I’m a local and Emma has been here 20 years so we know the area well.”
Despite the difficulties being experienced by some of the big restaurant chains over the past year they have continued to attract people through their doors.
He said: “It is a local brand, we don’t have a big brand image. We are not experiencing the problems the big chains are seeing.
“We know the customers, we know the area,
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“It’s all about knowing the clientele and the base. Beaumaris is an affluent area with people with disposable income - there are a lot of retired couples and we are steady throughout the week. Conwy fluctuates more, with big numbers on the weekend.
“There is a different demographic there so we have made changes, a different lunchtime menu, a few more kids meals as lots of families come over for a day. It is about knowing your market.”
The next venture - back in to retail for Emma - came about after a chance conversation.
David said: “Carl(Jones), from Valley Butcher used to supply us with meats. He had sold the business and was in here one day and I asked ‘what’s next?’
“He wasn’t sure and I told him I wanted to get into charcuterie because the amount of chorizo we use in the Midland is flabbergasting.
“He said that was his out of work passion so that got us thinking about that more.
“We wanted to make a connection with the Midland to incorporate Mediterranean influence on Welsh produce.”
This saw Mercado open in May - just down the road from the original Midland restaurant in Beaumaris. It stocks a large selection of local produce alongside Mediterranean foods and some products that combine both.
David added: “We use local meats - we have three butchers working for us - all local to Anglesey, as are two shop assistants and we want to try to encourage people to shop locally. It opened at the end of May, it has been well received by locals and tourists, it’s all good.”
After this opening there are no plans for more sites.
“We have three kids and should they wish to continue it then that will be our succession management sorted!” said David.
“We need to consolidate now and maintain the standards we have set in Beaumaris, which has seen us win accolades.
“We want Conwy be recognised in the same way.”
Another of their passions is raising the status of careers in the hospitality sector.
David said: “I wish people would recognise tourism as a more sustainable and reputable sector. There are not many kids here in Beaumaris - we often employ people and they move to Beaumaris because of it which is having a positive effect on the local area. Our three chefs have moved to the area. Our jobs are permanent jobs, not seasonal.
“We pay quite handsomely for someone skilled in the sector - our wage bill in Beaumaris is over £250,000 a year - that is going back into the local economy. We have good people working for us who recognise this as a career.
"We have someone from Sardinia who says with this sort of job back home people are very proud to say this is what they do, there is real status and rightly so because this is a hard job. We need that same recognition here.”