THE owner of a top Greenock bar has told of his hopes for a planned expansion of his business interests in the town - by creating 16 jobs as part of a new venture.
Tokyo Joe boss Ian McAnally is aiming to raise expectations for local hospitality by turning the former Fenwick Tapas on West Blackhall Street into a family-friendly sports bar.
Ian, who has been running Tokyo Joe on Westburn Street for almost five years, wants to transform the Fenwick premises and rename it Dock.
The new business is to be a wet-led bar, but will also sell food such as sourdough pizzas, wings, ribs, and bar bites.
Dock will also show a range of live sports, including American events.
Ian says that a full complement of staff will be recruited for Dock, with 16 positions available.
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These include managerial roles, with supervisors, chefs, waiting staff, and cleaners also needed.
Ian said: “We’re talking to Business Gateway just now, so there might be some extra support for wages as well as extra training as far as certification is concerned.
“The staff who come on board will get basic food hygiene certificates, personal licenses, and they’ll go through a training period.”
Ian hopes the venture can provide another ‘quality operation’ in Greenock and help encourage both customers and staff to stay in the town, rather than head to Glasgow.
He is aiming to create a ‘hub’ between Tokyo Joe, Dock, and the soon-to-be opened Scotts at the new Greenock cruise ship terminal.
Ian added: “I think Greenock has been forgotten about for a long time.
“Just now, if you’re going on a night out, I don’t imagine you’ll be doing it in Greenock.
“This could give us a little hub and also a larger core staff in the community to service the hospitality industry.
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“It’s quite difficult right now. Generally, I think we can create a larger core hospitality group with more trained staff within the local area.
“The standards that we’ve introduced from what Tokyo Joe was five years ago is way ahead of what you would have got previously.
“The more you can do that, the more it brings up the general level of expectation of what you get within Greenock. That can only be a good thing.”
Despite the difficulties being faced by those in hospitality in recent months and years, Ian believes now is a good time to launch a career in the industry due to recent minimum wage increases and lack of skill in the sector.
He said: “If you come in as a chef and train yourself up to a head chef position, there’s the potential to earn, depending on level of experience, anywhere between £35,000 and £50,000 per year now because there’s such a lack of skill in the sector.
“Similarly with managers, general managers in city centre branded restaurants will earn £35,000 to £40,000 plus bonuses easily.
“If you wanted to come in at a starting position and work your way up, there’s lots of those positions available.”
Ian is also keen to help hospitality students develop their practical skills as he prepares to open Dock. Those interested are encouraged to hand a CV into Tokyo Joe, or to contact tokyojoerestaurant@gmail.com.
He is hoping to have the new venue up and running within two months.
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