Latest news with #Diners'Choice
Scottish Sun
12 hours ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Historic seafood restaurant seen on Antiques Roadshow and Lovejoy forced to shut down after ‘terrible' rat infestation
RAT HORROR Historic seafood restaurant seen on Antiques Roadshow and Lovejoy forced to shut down after 'terrible' rat infestation Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN HISTORIC sea food restaurant has been closed down court action after a rat infestation was discovered in the building. The infestation in the grade II listed building in Maldon, Essex, was discovered by district council hygiene officers. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Officers said the restaurant posed an "imminent risk to public health" Credit: Alamy 3 A scene from Lovejoy filmed at Fish on the Quay in 1992 Credit: BBC Maldon District Council took court action against Fish on the Quay which is located on Church Street. Some parts of the historic building, which is used today as a restaurant, pub and a bed and breakfast, date back to the 15th century. Hygiene officers visited the business after receiving a complaint and discovered a "horrendous" rat infestation. Rodents at the restaurant were reportedly discovered licking tubs of honey and leaving droppings in the kitchen. The infestation was said to be in the venue's kitchen, bar and cellar spaces and posed an 'imminent risk to the public." After visiting on June 13 inspectors photographed rat droppings within the condiments, on top of a fridge in a kitchen storage area, in packaging, and behind a freezer in a storage shed. The business has been closed until inspectors are satisfied that the issue has been addressed, pest control are reportedly on site on a daily basis. Staff at Fish on the Quay, which is owned and operated by The Jolly Sailor Ltd, are working with the council to fix the problem. A manager has vowed to reopen the venue in Hythe Quay, telling the BBC "everything is great." Council leader Richard Siddall said however that "incredibly serious offences" had been identified a the venue. Shocking moment pack of huge RATS swarm popular McDonald's The council took the restaurant to court to apply for a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order which was granted. The order means that the business cannot reopen until health risks are removed. Council officers are reportedly working with staff to ensure the safety of visitors and neighbours following the discovery of the rodent infestation. According to Sidall an "imminent risk to public health" had been identified. The rat infestation on the premises was identified as ongoing and extensive. Fish on the Quay has won several awards including a Diners' Choice award from OpenTable in 2022. 3 The historic building dates back to the 15th century Credit: Googlemaps It also appeared on TV several times most notably when an episode of Lovejoy was filmed there in January 1992. It has also appeared on Lawless heart in 2001 and The Antiques Road show in 2007. The historic building was once a Customs house keeping an eye on boats going back and fourth up the River Blackwater. Currently there is a sign outside the historic building reading: "We are closed! Sorry for the inconvenience." Cllr Richard Siddall, Leader of Maldon District Council, said; 'Our officers took swift action against this business as soon as it became clear there was an imminent risk to public health. 'It is absolutely vital that food businesses are kept clean and in good repair in line with stringent food safety legislation. "A failure to do so could potentially result in terrible consequences for the public and we will always take action against any owners not abiding by these laws. 'Whilst these are incredibly serious offences, we will work with the operator to improve the standards of cleanliness and make sure that they comply food safety standards before they reopen.' Fish on the Quay has been contacted for comment.
Miami Herald
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
From France to Washington Avenue: How this Black-owned steakhouse came to life
Five years ago, Miami Beach entrepreneur Kathia Joseph was on the verge of closing her first restaurant. With one of her dreams hanging in the balance, she refused. Instead, she pivoted by turning the business into a hookah lounge, a decision that ended up being profitable. 'I'm the type of person that never gives up,' said Joseph, 40. 'I said that I'm not going to close.' Joseph's knack for betting on herself is what led her to open Casa Matilda, a Miami Beach steakhouse, in early 2024. In her first year of running the business, the Washington Avenue restaurant has welcomed celebrities ranging from rapper 50 Cent to actor Cuba Gooding Jr. and multiple cast members of the 'Real Housewives of Miami' and received a Diners' Choice designation from OpenTable. As many South Beach 'clubstaurants' focus on keeping up with trends, Casa Matilda is working to define itself by its fresh cuisine and detail-oriented service. But the path to becoming a restaurateur wasn't a straight line for Joseph, a native of Haiti who worked for more than a decade as a translator in the film and TV industry in France. She was 17 when she moved from her home in Cap-Haïtien to live with relatives in France in 2003. Joseph excelled in her new French school and, because she had grown up speaking and writing French and also spoke English well, one of her teachers soon connected her with someone they knew in the film business. Joseph took a test that ended up being an audition for Dubbing Brothers, a French studio that creates translations of major film and TV productions. As Joseph became more successful at writing translations, she began planning for her goal of working on Disney shows. A supervisor explained that she needed a minimum of three years of experience, but when another coworker didn't show up for work one day, she took the opportunity to show her skills. 'It was for 'Hannah Montana' with Miley Cyrus,' she said. 'I start, and they love what I did. [I was] doing 'Hannah Montana,' 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody' and 'Wizards of Waverly Place.'' Still just a teenager, Joseph went to school during the day and after 5 p.m. made about $260 per episode that she translated. She eventually got so fast that she translated up to three episodes a day. By 2010, Joseph had made immense progress with her translation work and was responsible for training new writers. She had her daughter Joyce and began wondering how she could be a screenwriter of her own original films in English. When Joseph's father Octavil died in Haiti in 2013, she thought about what goals mattered most to her as she mourned his death. A mentor suggested that immersion would help her become a better English screenwriter and that she should live in Miami for a few months. A year later, Miami was her new home. But the move ended up changing the course of her professional journey in a different way. In 2015, Joseph was walking through Miami Beach when she realized that she would like to invest in the community and own a business. She had always loved cooking and frequented Paul, a restaurant on Lincoln Road. With an enduring curiosity about opening a restaurant, Joseph began learning everything she could via YouTube videos and Google searches. 'In France, you need a degree for everything,' she said. 'I thought you had to have a degree to do a restaurant.' On a phone call with a friend in Switzerland, Joseph talked about her restaurant idea and was pleasantly surprised when her friend offered to help her with an investment of over $300,000. The landlord for the building Joseph lived in told her that a storefront on the first level was available. She signed a lease in July of 2019 and began bringing her first restaurant to life. On Nov. 30, 2019, Blue Paris Bistro finally opened. Just three months later, her entrepreneurial dreams met a sobering reality: the COVID-19 pandemic. She had to pivot fast and changed her eatery into a hookah lounge. 'That's the best decision I [ever] made,' she said. 'Oh my God, I started making good money.' However, her change in fortune didn't go unnoticed by her landlord. Following the boom in business at her hookah lounge, rent went up to $25,000 a month for the 1,500-square-foot space in 2021 from the $15,000 that she'd paid before. After closing the hookah lounge in June 2021, Joseph opened the Cuban restaurant Matilda's Kitchen that September on Collins Avenue. She still owns and operates the restaurant today. In September 2023, Joseph and her business partner purchased Casa Matilda, an existing restaurant in South Beach, after six months of negotiations. She said she remembered when the building was constructed and had always pictured owning a restaurant in the space. While the concept was not originally her own, Joseph kept the Casa Matilda name, updated the decor and took time curating the menu, which features Mexican-inspired dishes with a twist, like Oaxaca crab enchiladas and duck carnitas tacos, as well as steakhouse fare like bone-in ribeye and a dry-aged porterhouse. Joseph is aware of the support Black customers have given her businesses and appreciates it that much more as a Black woman in a community of entrepreneurs that do not often look like her. 'The Black community is really helping its own people because when I turned [Blue Paris] into a hookah lounge, 70% of my customers were Black, and they really pushed my business a lot,' she said. 'Even here at Casa Matilda, I have a lot of customers because they know me from Blue Paris.' With five years of business lessons under her belt, Joseph is considering expanding her restaurant portfolio and said she has more potential investors reaching out than ever before. She has also recently gotten into consulting, saying that helping others navigate the ups and downs that come with restaurant life is just as important to her. 'I want to help Black people, women and other minorities as a consultant,' she said. '[This work] is really challenging, and people sometimes give out false information.' Despite the challenges Joseph has endured running multiple businesses, she said doing what she loves makes it all worth it. '[With a] restaurant, you have to love it,' she said. 'It's all about love because it's a tough business.'
