FOOD
Fink
FOOD TO
Finkle & Green managers Simon
Hatfield (left) and Dave Dickson.
S
ABOUT
BY MARTIN WALKER
A successful pub duo has taken a big leap into the restaurant industry
with the opening of a new Tees eatery which has created 15 new jobs.
imon Hatfield and Dave Dickson,
who own The Townhouse pub in
Middlesbrough, have opened Finkle
& Green in Stockton after a nine-
month project costing more than £100,000.
The pair agreed to take on the former
Mohujo’s Mexican restaurant in August last
year before refurbishing it throughout.
Situated on Finkle Street and next to
Green Dragon Yard, hence its name, Finkle
& Green is situated within Stockton’s
Cultural Quarter, already home to many
popular micro pubs and cocktail bars.
And Simon – who also owns Concept
Leisure, the firm behind the two Nuthatch
cocktail bars in Middlesbrough and
Stockton – is confident they have spotted an
opportunity in the town’s up-and-coming
night scene.
“We’re really excited about the things
happening in Stockton,” said Simon.
“We both come from a late night
background, having worked in the pub and
club industry for a number of years, and we
really like the idea of bars or food.
“I opened the Nuthatch in Stockton and
we realised there’s not a lot of food offering
this side of the high street, other than Vadah
on the riverside.
“Talking to local people and taxi drivers,
they’d tell you Stockton is an up-and-coming
place with lots of venues to go for a drink,
but not enough places to eat.”
Another major factor in the case for a new
Stockton restaurant, Simon added, was the
restoration of the nearby Globe theatre.
A £15m project to restore the Grade
II-listed Art Deco Globe is already under
way and, once completed in 2019, the live
entertainment venue will create 250 jobs
and attract artists and performers who will
bring more than 200,000 visitors to Stockton
town centre every year – boosting the local
economy by an estimated £18m a year.
“The Globe will obviously be a major plus
for everyone in Stockton,” said Simon.
“But even without the Globe development
we identified a strong demand for this type
of restaurant and we’re really confident it’ll
work.”
Finkle & Green has already employed
five full-time chefs, including head chef Ian
Bailey, formerly of the Lotus Lounge and
Muse restaurants in Yarm, as well as five full-
time front-of-house staff and five part-time
employees.
But both Simon and Dave will remain full-
time while Finkle & Green establishes itself.
“Our expertise is front of house, but we’re
delighted with the staff we’ve brought in,” he
added.
“We’ve been nervous but the team have
been tremendous, they’re gelling really
well already, and the opening has gone
brilliantly.
“We’re invested in this long-term and
we’ll be very much hands-on for the
foreseeable future.”
Stockton Council’s cabinet member for
regeneration and housing, Councillor Nigel
Cooke, said: “We are delighted that such an
experienced operator and high-end cocktail
bar proprietor is establishing a quality bar-
restaurant in Stockton.
“The new venue will complement the
changing nature of nightlife in the town
perfectly and is in the ideal location to
benefit from the investment in the Hampton
by Hilton hotel, the restoration of the
Globe and the popular year-round events
programme.”
Finkle & Green, which boasts scenic views
of the River Tees from its elevated perch next
to Stockton’s A1305 Riverside road, is now
open 11.30am-11pm Mondays-Saturdays.
Its modern British menu has “a couple of
European twists”, and includes bangers ‘n’
mash and fish ‘n’ chips to smoked haddock
and cheese bake, king prawn taco, lamb
kebabs and sea bass fillets.
To view the menu and book a table, go to finkleandgreen.co.uk
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