mitch tonks
what Rockfish is all about. It’s about restaurants by the sea, fresh fish, family and making seafood accessible to all.
“Our brand guidelines apply to everything,
including t-shirts etc. We ask is it real? Is it authentic? . “But it’s not calculated – we’ve got no business plan that says this, this and this. I saw a site recently and thought ‘I love it’. I spoke to Mat and we’ve started a process. We don’t plan to open a restaurant every month, more likely one a year.” Do you think good food destinations are important in helping regenerate seaside towns? “Yes, I think they’re key to be honest. Look at Marylebone High Street in London ten years ago. It was a boarded up charity shop. Landlords there realised that to create a neighbourhood they needed great food shops and so brought in a couple of anchor tenants – a great cheese maker, great baker, great butcher. Marylebone High Street is now probably one of the most valuable bits of real estate in London, and one of the most vibrant. “Everyone knows that living by the sea is fantas-
tic. It’s certainly a better life than the city in terms of quality of air etc. But we don’t tend to live here because there’s not a lot to do or much going on. If you put something in the town it’ll attract other
Mitch works hard to create the right atmosphere in his restaurants as well as serving great food.
If you put something into the town it’ll bring other things and people will come.
things and then people will come and in turn attracting more. Before you know it, you’ve got Padstow. I love walking around Padstow, with its great wine and food shops. Walking around there, you feel like you’re somewhere in the Mediter- ranean.” Are you living the dream down here? “When I moved to Devon to open The Seahorse in Dartmouth, it was about fulfilling a lifelong dream of living by the sea, being a restaurateur and living here with the kids. “In reality, two years later after
I moved, I lost all my money and then the stock market crash happened and we had to rebuild our lives. The big 50 was fast approaching and I’d already got the ambition to open Rockfish. My wife and I sat down and reasoned we didn’t want a bigger house, a bigger boat or faster car, so decided we would just build a great business and work in it. We have no great ambitions to sell it on and make millions of pounds but just carry on having a great life here. “We love living here in Brixham
- this is one Rockfish I can see from my bedroom window! I love the town and being active in the business. In that way, it’s a very rewarding lifestyle. “It’s actually my 50th next year. I shall relax a bit
so I’m taking my little boat out to the Med and doing a transatlantic crossing in November, albeit on something a bit bigger with a few friends.” •
Visit www.
therockfish.co.uk to find out lots more on Rockfish including menus and opening times.
Mitch with his business partner Mat Prowse
The new Rockfish at Brixham
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