Norwich restaurants suffer from eating-in

01 January 2000
Norwich restaurants suffer from eating-in

The only Michelin-starred restaurant in East Anglia nearly went bust this summer because business was so bad.

David Adlard, proprietor of Adlard's in Norwich, said the city was the worst place in the UK to run a restaurant because of its "dinner-party culture".

On one Friday night last month Adlard's had just two customers, despite the high ratings that the 40-seat restaurant has received from food critics.

Adlard, who was born and bred in Norwich, said: "In June I nearly went bankrupt. People here entertain at home and they don't have a bean in their pockets. In terms of trade Norwich is bottom of the heap."

Other restaurateurs agreed that the city was not good for the hospitality sector. And they fear unless local people learn to appreciate eating out, some restaurants will go out of business.

Michael Lane, restaurant manager at the 50-seat Green's, blamed the conservative attitudes of people in Norwich. He said: "It is hard to encourage Norwich people to go out and eat during the week."

Lloyd Addison, regional manager of the East Anglia branch of the Restaurant Association, last year sold his city-centre restaurant Lloyd's.

"It is the hardest way to earn a living because there is not a culture here to spend money on food," he said.

By Louise Bozec

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