Tonight I've been invited to the opening of the new Indian restaurant in town. This will be the fourth Indian restaurant and joins two Chinese restaurants, four Chinese takeaways, four fish and chip shops and a chicken shack. This doesn't count the food offerings in pubs which also include Mexican, Thai and others. There are certainly plenty of places to eat here. For a town of 18,000 people that is a lot of food outlets. It makes me wonder if anyone actually owns an oven or cooker here.
But yet another Indian restaurant?
Its original licence application caused consternation because it sought a 2am closure and, typically with the new licensing law, it wasn't evident if this was to be a bar or a restaurant. But as the development continued it became obvious it was to be a restaurant. Another one.
Can the town sustain yet another restaurant? I think the answer is yes. The menu looks attractive, distinctive and pricier than the others. It is stylishly decorated and has that new funkier appearance as Indian restaurants try to shake off their flock wallpaper image. The owner introduced himself to me this morning and seemed very genial. He said there had been some hostility between himself and the other restaurant owners. But he was going to focus on quality. He cited my "We're not as cheap as Wetherspoon's" banner. "We're not as cheap as the Prince of India," he said laughingly.
Where outlets have sought to deliver more and more at cheaper and cheaper prices it creates a bear-pit that is so unpleasant. But alongside those operations are outlets seeking to provide quality, security, consistency and service which are overlooked elsewhere.
My money is on the new place.
The older ones need to look to their business. There's a new sheriff in town.