MasterChef finalist Tony Rodd launches £70,000 crowdfund to open cocktail bar

MasterChef finalist Tony Rodd has launched a crowdfunding campaign to open a cocktail bar at his Copper & Ink restaurant in Blackheath.

The chef and his wife Becky (both pictured above), who oversees front of house, are looking to raise £70,000 on Kickstarter to complete the project.

After five years in business, the pair are looking to convert part of the ground floor dining room into a bar open to both restaurant diners and the public.

Tony and MasterChef semi-finalist Rob Parks, who also competed on the show in 2015, will create a menu of bar snacks to be served alongside a range of drinks.

Funds raised will be used to install new equipment and lounge furniture and redecorate the ground floor in an art deco style.

Tony told The Caterer he hoped the conversion would attract new diners amid changing customer habits.

"We're a two-storey restaurant and until earlier this year we used to be full every evening we were open," he said. "Obviously, the cost of living crisis has come in and numbers have dwindled. We talk to our guests and they all say the same thing: that they used to eat out twice a week and now it's once a week or month.

"When we're not full, we're losing money. We probably won't survive if we continue to run the business that way, so we sat down and said, how can we make the most of that space?"

He added: "[The cocktail bar] will help fill up those dead periods because at the moment you have to do everything you can as it's so expensive to be in business.

"We still want to provide a high-end service, but the overheads will be less and that will help us manage costs and hopefully generate a bit more income."

Copper & Ink launched the crowdfund earlier this month and has so far raised more than £33,000 from 176 backers.

Rewards on offer include multiple-course lunches in the bar and restaurant as well as private cookery lessons.

To view the crowdfund, click here.

Image: Nic Crilly-Hargraves