The future is in people’s dreams
The last night at Krimo’s was quite emotional. It had quickly been booked up once it got known that Friday 31st October 2014 was to be our last service. Many of our most faithful regulars turned up for the last supper maybe in a bid to taste the ultimate Krimo’s meal or simply to bid us farewell, having followed us since pretty much the beginning, which was very heart-warming. We laughed, drank and closed the doors for good on nearly thirty years of a restaurant that was carried along with our own enthusiasm and tons of genuine local support. A few of the staff remained with the new owners, but the others had already planned to move on.
The end of the year came with as much relief as sadness that the restaurant was no longer mine and a page of our history had been turned over for good.
Both Portofino and Casa del Mar were being well managed by competent, trustworthy and long-serving staff. I still had a bit of input in writing menus and back office administration, but in truth, I felt I had become redundant after two years of working nearly full time at Krimo’s. Once I no longer worked hands-on, it seemed that things were now out of my hands while still being responsible for around fifty employees and hundreds of customers.
Noel, at Portofino, had always shown an interest in acquiring the restaurant he had started working at in 1998. A young 17-year-old trainee, he joined us to make pizzas a couple of nights a week while studying at Kirby College in Middlesbrough. Within a few weeks, he decided to give up his studies to take on a full-time commis-chef’s job. He very quickly rose up the ladder to become head-chef, in charge of Portofino’s kitchen.
On numerous occasions, we had talked about him taking over the restaurant when we were ready, me to retire at around 65 and him, confident enough to take over. I gave him all sorts of advice along the way, not just to do with cooking but mainly about managing people and getting the best out of them by working alongside them. Good managers make time for those they manage, time to find out what makes them tick, time to discuss personal issues that may interfere with work, time to counsel and advise. In the beginning, I felt that my boring lectures would not sink into his young mind, but as time went by, Noel found time to listen and understand what could make a good manager out of him and eventually a business owner.
I also casually mentioned Noel’s plans to Chris at Casa del Mar. He too had started making pizzas at Portofino at the age of 16 and eventually decided that he liked working in restaurants. He rose up the ladder and later took over the running of tapas bar’s kitchen.
I think that I whetted his appetite with the thought of owning the place with his fiancée, Laura, the manager.
Just as I began to dream over thirty-three years ago of owning a restaurant, so did those young people start thinking that one day, their dreams and mine would be realised.
As the saying goes: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”