Uppermill restaurant to reopen

A POPULAR restaurant will re-open its doors after being closed for 20 months.

Dinnerstone, on Uppermill’s High Street, has had its doors shut with many wondering if the lights will ever come on again.

Staff have been working at Lydgate’s White Hart, whose owner Charles Brierley also has the eatery, after it suddenly shut on May 27, 2021.

A staff member at its sister business was rushed to hospital and a decision made to amalgamate staff.

Mr Brierley said at the time: “We also understand that they are not critical and going to make a full recovery, but it will take time, and we don’t know how long.

“Everyone is working under massive pressure and I now must consider the wellbeing of all our team.

“I know this may come as a shock to everyone, but I hope you understand it is a decision I have not taken lightly.”

But its return has been announced, at a date to be revealed soon. Much to the delight of many people.

And a spokesman revealed work has been done on the property ahead of what was described as ‘exciting and a new challenge.’

Kitchen and front of house staff are also being taken on ahead of the reopening.

They said: “Dinnerstone is re-opening – after a long 20 months of being closed. We are finally opening the doors.

“With a new menu, new kitchen, we are really excited to open the doors.”

Meanwhile, Uppermill business Hugo and Me has announced it is closing its doors on High Street and moving to an online-only platform.

Founder Victoria Shuttleworth said: “We’ve had time to reassess and have decided that we are going to focus on our online site and unfortunately we won’t be reopening our Uppermill shop.

“This has been an immensely difficult and emotional decision but with our recent expansion online and success with new brands, we were already struggling to keep up with orders online as well as keeping our Uppermill shop open to local customers.

“My passion and expertise has always been in e-commerce and this decision will allow us to grow as a business and still work around our family life.

“It’s been a great three years adding a shop to our busy business and we’ve loved every minute of it. But it’s time to adapt and follow the direction our business is taking us.

“Thank you to all of our local shop staff past and present who made this journey possible and also all of our amazing local customers – many of which have become our friends.”