Krimo's Twenty Four...

May the Fourth be with you!

Another year ticks by...

Who would've thought twenty four years after Karen and I opened our little restaurant on Seaton Carew seafront on May 4th 1985 that Krimo's would still be going strong?
And according to a survey I conducted a couple of weeks ago it still is the place for special celebrations in Hartlepool?

I tell people we did it with £250 of our own money but it was less than that. It was actually £240! One week's wages and one week's holiday pay.
But all the credit goes to Bert Bryden, our bank manager who started the ball rolling. He gave us a personal loan to put down as a 10% deposit for our 90% building society mortgage to purchase the freehold property.

Bert knew Steve Adams, the building society manager and I had already cooked for him in a small restaurant in Peterlee. Between them they provided us with a 100% mortgage. They must either have had a lot of faith in us or lots of money to dish out. Was that the start of this current credit crunch?

In the three weeks before the Grand Opening, family and friends helped us scrub clean "Davy Jones’ Locker" as the restaurant had been known prior to closing down two years earlier. They painted, decorated, plastered, shopped, sewed, stitched...

Three weeks after opening, as the Saturdays began to be booked up well in advance, we felt so confident about the future that we organised a get-together with everyone that helped out, including Bert and Steve, to thank them for giving us the chance to take our life in our hands.



And, today, we are grateful to all the customers who have kept us going over the years, and allowed us to expand with a further two restaurants.
There is a saying in the motivational business guru's handbook which tells you to "fall in love with your customers". I guess our saga was love at first sight!
The rest is history...

Adam was 3½ when we opened. Nowadays, he runs Casa del Mar. The photo below was taken outside the original Krimo's in July 86 with his Parisian cousin, Mélissa...

9 comments:

Pat said...

I have happy and sad memories of your restaurant at Seaton Carew. Happy at a reunion with my brother and his family and sad after the tragic death of my nephew.

Krimo said...

Sorry for your loss, Pat. Have you visited Hartlepool since then?

Zéphyr said...

Quand on est amoureux de l'art culinaire, gros gourmand et fin gourmet, il ne faut s'étonner de rien.

Les clients, les amis ainsi que les bailleurs de fonds ont su vous apprécié car vous avez gagné leur estime.

L'art culinaire est plus qu'une technique, c'est un don, un savoir faire propre à chacun.

Votre acquis tient de votre aventure maritime, de votre culture imprégnée de l'occident, de l'orient et surtout du bassin méditerranéen, le berceau des grandes civilisations.

Akelamalu said...

Wonderful - congratulations on your success Krimo. :)

Krimo said...

Merci,Zéphyr.
Vingt-quatre ans sont passées tellement rapidement que nous n'avons que les témoignages de nos clients pour souvenirs.

Thank you very much, Akela.

Pat said...

Alas no.

Krimo said...

Well, Pat, maybe the next time you're up this way, please call in. You'll find that Hartlepool has changed into a beautiful gem.

andrea said...

Congrats on #24! Wish I could pop in. And I love the photo of the tots in the 2CV.

Krimo said...

Thanks, Andrea.
A long way to come...
That's my son and my niece.