A new restaurant will be opening in St Annes and its opening will bring 20 new jobs to the area. The Anatolia Sea View Mediterranean eaterie will be opening at The Island Leisure complex in June. The opening comes three years later than the owner, Veli Kirk, had originally intended with a roof problem being one of the reasons why the opening was postponed. As of now, the proprietor has already negotiated a 20-year lease and finishing touches are being put on the restaurant in preparation for the opening. Kirk is also looking for new staff to hire with the aid of St Annes JobCentre.
Mr Kirk stated that they are looking forward to the day of the opening although an exact date is yet to be set. He added that despite the long wait to get to this point, it was going to be worth every moment. He talked about the finishing touches that were being put on the exterior and that he believes the restaurant, which will be open throughout the year, will become an important part of the town.
This isn’t Veli Kirk’s first foray into the restaurant industry. He currently runs the Anatolia Turkish Grill restaurant since 2010. The restaurant is located is located at the St Annes town centre. For the last five years, the restaurant has held the number one spot in Lytham St Annes according to customer reviews on Tripadvisor. According to Kirk, the popularity of his restaurant is so great that he has to turn away more than 100 customers every week.
On the location in Seaview, Kirk reckons he has spent in excess of £300,000 and although there were structural issues that resulted in the delay of the opening, he remained determined to achieve his dream of a seafront restaurant. In terms of space, the new location will be an upgrade on the town centre restaurant and will be able to handle four times the number of customers. The restaurant will have balcony seating that will be used when the seasons permit and will also have an area for private functions.
On the location, Kirk spoke of the wonderful potential it had. According to him, this is the perfect place for a Mediterranean themed family restaurant since there was already a cinema, pool and various other family attractions near the spot. The restaurant will have a capacity of 90 in the main dining area plus an extra 30 in the area for private functions.