‘We want to end on a high’ - Chef Pam Brunton on selling Inver
The award-winning restaurant was put on the market this month, at the same time it was awarded 4 AA rosettes. Rosalind Erskine spoke to chef patron Pam Brunton about selling her ‘dream restaurant.’
“It’s nice serendipity to have that accolade announced on the same day as the sale became public,” said Pam Brunton of the news that her restaurant Inver was awarded 4 AA rosettes at the recent AA hospitality awards. The sale of Inver, which went on the market in mid-September, came as a shock to the industry but also customers. “We’ve already had a deluge of emotional messages on Instagram, emails and comments along the lines of ‘oh no I can’t believe it, how can Inver go?’ but it’s not. The location, the venue is not going anywhere,” said Pam.
As for her, and partner Rob Latimer’s decision to sell? It’s not because they’ve bought The George in Inverary nor is it economic-led although Pam admits these haven’t been the easiest few years. It’s something more simple: life and the feeling of it being time. Pam explained: “It has been something of a dream being able to run the restaurant of our dreams here for the last 12 years. But life has a way of calling you to do other things. Some of it is just practical, we have ageing parents and life is pulling us to do other things. There are other things we need to consider; families and other projects.
“Change is ultimately an exciting thing and although there are personal things going on in the background that are pulling our heads in other directions there are also exciting projects potentially coming up. Life might feel a bit different for a while, which for me is an exciting thing. It’s time. This is year 12, which is quite a long time to do the same thing, in the same place. I’m now at the point where I can’t have someone move my spoon pot or the muscle memory kicks in, and I knock it over. It’s very ingrained and I think it’s just time for something new. It has been a good innings.”
For those who love Pam’s cooking and ethos of sustainability and seasonal produce, she’s not stopping but there are no immediate plans to open another restaurant. She said: “I’ve been a chef for over 25 years and you can’t just stop. Hospitality and cooking are part of who I am now, part of my identity and that’s not going to change. I imagine there will be things that we end up doing.
“The immediate plan is not to open another hospitality venture. We don’t know what it is we’re going to be doing but we’re not leaving to open somewhere else, not in the short term anyway. We have a couple of projects knocking about in the background but it’s not about opening another restaurant down the road, for sure.”
The couple have no plans to leave the area, so may end up being customers of her former business in the future. As for who might take over their thriving business, Pam is open minded and acknowledges that when her and Rob moved here, they did something totally different with Inver. She said: “We want somebody to take this on who will do the kind of thing that we want to have as part of our community. Because it’s such a personal thing to do; move to this small, rural community and set something up here.
“We want it to be something the community can use but at the same time, I know that we did something that not everybody thought was their ideal restaurant. When we moved in here there was already a very popular , well reputed restaurant here for decades before we took over and started meddling. So I’m also open for somebody to do something completely different. I just want them to be nice people though because never mind walking into Inver, we’ll also see them in the village hall, the post office and the local pub,” she laughed.
Pam and Rob are hoping to see as many familiar faces as possible before they leave, which will “likely be into next year.” Pam said: “We’ve given ourselves quite a long lead time. It can take six months to two years to sell a business, so we’re not leaving next week. We can end on a high, with love and energy and quality that people have come to expect from us. And all the energy that we put into this thing will not fizzle whereas I think if we left it another year or two, situations would’ve changed in our personal lives that might actually start affecting the business. We would hope to see as many possible familiar faces and our loyal returning guests to see us say goodbye to this phase.”
The AA rosettes are the full stop at the end of this chapter for the couple, who have grown Inver from “being quite a financially fragile seasonal restaurant into something that really is quite robust” thanks to the addition of six rooms.
“Inver will remain a restaurant and whatever happens next, we’ll be doing our best to make sure it’s equally as beautiful and wonderful. I hope that the people who take it (Inver) on can cherish it, the location and the opportunity in the same way that we did. I’d love to see somebody continue the relationship with the landscape, the place and the community here first and foremost.”
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