Jan and Arthur Watson, co-owners of The Riverside Restaurant in West Bay, Bridport, were surprised and thrilled to both be awarded a BEM in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to the Hospitality Industry in the South West.
From café to seafood restaurant
When Arthur and Jan started running the restaurant together in 1964 it was a seaside café and Post Office. The trade was limited to local fisherman and in the summer people on camping holidays in the area along with the occasional coach party. Although local fish and shellfish were always on the menu, roast dinners and cream teas were the visitors’ first choice.
It was in the early 1970s, at the persuasion of Jan (the then cook) that they started making more of local seafood on the menu. In 1976, as the area became more popular as a holiday destination, they extended the restaurant and began offering a full seafood menu which attracted visitors from far and wide. Now over 50 years later, with Jan and Arthur still very much at the helm, the restaurant is one of the most loved seafood restaurants in the area, and is the recipient of many accolades and awards.
Arthur and Jan see the recognition in the Queen’s Birthday Honours as an award not only for themselves but for all the wonderful staff who have worked at the Riverside over the years, and particularly the present team led by the Managers Neil Chilcott and Sue Turner.
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