A TENBURY couple have taken the plunge and opened a bistro in town driven by the tragic news that a member of the family had a terminal illness.

This made Milo and Bridie Jackson realise that ‘you only get one chance in life’ and that they should go for it.

“My wife and I made a decision in November 2020 to branch out into hospitality after Bridie, my wife, wanted a career change,” said Mr Jackson.

“After being faced with some extremely tragic news of an immediate family member’s terminal illness during the first lockdown, this was a huge reality check for us that you only get one shot in life and you should always go for it and take a chance in life.

“My wife Bridie comes from a catering background and studied catering and hospitality management at Worcester College. Family life made it hard to commit to such an idea, but now our children are older we felt we could pursue this opportunity.”

So the next step was to find somewhere to open and for this the terrible flooding in February 2020 was a blessing.

“When we took on the property in Market Street, Tenbury Wells, the premises was very badly flood damaged and had been standing neglected for many months,” added Mr Jackson.

“It was such a shame as the building is so beautiful! So after a search of the current owner and a business meeting later, Bridie signed for both premises, even though at first it was only intended for us to have the one!

“We have now merged the two shops back to its original design as one large premises, created a brand new commercial kitchen and a new set of toilets.”

Mr and Mrs Jackson have been keen to use local tradespeople.

“The whole building has had a complete renovation with new porcelain flooring, sound insulated ceiling, bar installation, cctv and audio works and redecoration,” Mr Jackson said.

“Throughout the six month renovation we have enlisted the help of many local tradesperson, however a huge majority of the work has been completed by ourselves with the help of my father and brother and close friends.”

The couple have three children, Leah aged 18, Rhiannon aged 14, and Piers aged 11.

“Our eldest is head waitress at Unwined and thoroughly enjoys her position,” added Mr Jackson, who runs a landscape garden construction business but helps out behind the bar in the evening.

The idea is to bring a touch of the Mediterranean to Tenbury.

“Our aim is to provide a unique dining experience nestled in the Worcestershire town of Tenbury Wells,” Mr Jackson said.

“The restaurant has a relaxed ambiance throughout the day and into the evening.

“We are a Mediterranean bistro and wine bar serving brunch and afternoon tapas.

There is a full menu including Spanish Paella during evening service and an extensive wine list including old and new world wines.

Customers can also order cocktails and local and continental beers and spirits.

It is early days but Mr Jackson says the family business has already been attracting good reviews from customers.

The restaurant is open from 9am-5pm Monday and Tuesday, 9am-3pm and 6pm-11pm Wednesday to Saturday.

Despite the devastating impact of the flooding in February 2020, followed by the Covid-19 pandemic the town has shown great resilience.

A number of businesses closed and others had to stop trading for many months because of flood damage.

But new businesses have opened up to fill the gaps with traders showing confidence in the future.

These include a sandwich shop, a fish mongers, burger restaurant and a butchers.

Mr Thoms has also expanded with a new outside area for customers and it is to provide lessons in chocolate making.

The town has benefited from an increase in visitors with more people holidaying in the UK.