A RESTAURANT featured in the Michelin Guide announced it will rebrand its offering to give 'something much more approachable'.
Chefs Danny Land, Ryan Carr and front-of-house manager Stephen Pitfield opened fine dining restaurant Eleven in Ponteland in May 2021.
Danny explained they are now rebranding the business into a restaurant called Bawn.
He said: "The world is a tough place to be a small business right now, and whilst Eleven had so much success, including being entered into the Michelin Guide, a rating of excellent in the Good Food Guide and being nominated at the National Restaurant Awards, we felt a tasting menu in a semi-rural Northumberland village probably wasn’t as viable as we had hoped given we hadn’t envisaged the world being the way it currently is."
Danny said Bawn will hopefully open at the end of April with the menu due to be released soon.
Bawn will offer seasonal small plates and New York-style sourdough pizza.
Danny explained: "The same ethos of buying the best we know how and showcasing exceptional ingredients will remain, but transferring it to a new style of simple cooking, giving something much more approachable and more familiar to most.
"We felt a rebrand was easier and clearer to send the message that this is going to be a completely different restaurant than what Eleven was. Eleven had written its only story and to try and just constantly interfere with that didn’t seem right. It’s a fresh start, a new style, but with the same ethos and standards.
"So many customers were very sad to see Eleven go, as were we, but as a whole, I think everyone was very understanding and are very aware of how tough it is to be in our industry right now."
He said it was 'emotional to say goodbye to Eleven', but 'the time was right to make the change'.
Danny added it's 'exciting to see the vision starting to piece together'.
"It will be a great feeling to have a full restaurant again and feel that buzz of service.
"More than anything, we can’t wait to get back to what we do best, because paperwork certainly isn’t it!"
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