Setting sail for the new Marina

Apart from once pushing Adam in his pushchair along the disused docks in the early 80s, I had rarely ventured around the old port of Hartlepool. When plans were unveiled to transform it into a Marina, I admit that I was very sceptical, thinking that if I were ever fortunate to own a yacht, a port on the North East coast would be the last place I would moor it. I would rather opt for the warmth of a Mediterranean resort such as Marbella or Monaco. Little did I know that a few years later, the Marina would become a reality and turn out to be very popular among boat owners. 

While the Marina was being built, the old docks were closed off to the public, and the main Northern route out of Hartlepool went along Clarence Road, past Victoria Park to join Powlett Road. 

The early 90s were a blur for me. One minute we lived above Krimo’s at Seaton Carew, the next we had moved out and doubled the size of the restaurant. The next time I looked up from my stove, it was already 1994, and the Marina was well on its way. 

I contacted the now-defunct Teesside Development Corporation to find out whether there was any chance of opening a restaurant on the Marina. The response was positive, but nothing was set in stone. That Summer, Hartlepool hosted the 4 Litre World Powerboat racing Championships. Competitors from all over the world descended on Hartlepool to race across the bay in horrendous conditions. Jackson’s Landing was being built at the time with the promise to bring in shoppers from all over the region. I have always believed that it owed its failure to being too far ahead of its time.  

After a few meetings with the TDC, I was promised the site where Portofino sits nowadays. Immediately, I began planning and dreaming of setting up a bistro-pizzeria, a concept that was very close to my heart.

I contacted the Art College to see if they could design me a logo. The head of year was delighted with the request and decided to use Portofino as an end-of-year project for his graphic art students. The result was eighteen different but extraordinarily professional and appealing designs of logos, menus and posters for Portofino. I chose the logo that has adorned all our publications for the last twenty years. The prize was a sum of money shared among the students and a meal for two to the winner, who turned up many years later to claim it.

Sadly, my initial enthusiasm to open the new restaurant made way to a long and frustrating three-year wait, while the matter went through an interminable amount of red tape.

In 1996, my head-chef at the time decided to leave, and it was the ideal excuse to invite my friend, Madjid to take over the running of the kitchen. He had worked in a few restaurants in Sunderland and even owned a pizzeria at one time. He gave me the opportunity to leave the stove and concentrate on promoting the restaurant. I began producing a monthly newsletter which I called Krimo’s Screamers. Featuring recipes and food stories, it became popular with our customers. Later, as the internet took over our lives, I changed it to an online version.

1997 brought a buzz about the Marina and a renewed hope that Portofino’s opening would not be far off.