“An incredible transformation taking shape.” [Mitch Tonks, CEO, Rockfish]
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Back in April, the CEO of Rockfish restaurants was reported saying that the Sidmouth Rockfish will open in October.
Last week, Mitch Tonks posted a short film and piece on Facebook – which has received almost a hundred comments since:
In 2025, I never imagined we’d still be dealing with the lingering effects of Covid. It’s been five years of significant frustrations. Behind me is Rockfish Sidmouth, a project that’s been under construction for about a year & a half now, & has taken years of planning. The site required the demolition of the public toilets, which came with a raft of complications.
After Covid, we went through a rough patch with inflation, & I found myself questioning whether opening restaurants was even worth it considering the costs of building & the regulations involved. But we had a pipeline in the works before Covid, & we knew we needed to unlock the potential of these properties we’d taken on.
We had to make some tough decisions. Lyme Regis was a great opportunity that we managed to sneak in, & we made sure to prioritise Salcombe, especially after missing last summer. While all this was happening in the background, an incredible transformation was taking shape, thanks to an amazing team. The end result is going to be fantastic, & we plan to open by the end of this year.
If you want to know more or be part of our opening celebrations, head over to our Rockfish Sidmouth page, leave your details, & we’ll be in touch. We can’t wait to welcome you here when it opens.
In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be able to take you inside & show you the transformation of this beautiful site, right on the seafront & beach here in Sidmouth
Mr Tonks does indeed refer to the ‘complications’ over the public toilets, and opinions are still divided, with a letter opining that “The demolition at Port Royal is a sad decision”.
As for the ‘transformation’ of the site and of the building, over the last couple of months, new documents have appeared on the district council’s planning pages, including the Discharge of conditions for 23/1657/FUL : Condition 3 (external materials) | Sidmouth Drill Hall The Esplanade Sidmouth EX10 8BE – which includes “details of timber cladding … sympathetic to the historic character of the building and appearance of the Conservation Area”
Finally, as suggested, there’s the “coming soon” page on the Sidmouth seafood restaurant on the Rockfish website to look at.
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