Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, Lord Elis-Thomas recently visited the Sea Shanty Café in Trearddur Bay, Anglesey to see how the business is progressing.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The Sea Shanty opened its doors in July 2016 following a coordinated effort from its creator Philip Brown, Anglesey County Council and funding from Visit Wales. Located behind the main beach of Trearddur Bay, this brand new build sits behind the sand dunes and has 160 covers inside with a further 55 outside.
The interior draws on the coastal location and maritime heritage of the area to bring a strong sense of place to the village. Wooden sailing boats and vintage outboard motors can be seen on the ceiling while curiosities brought to life by local craftsmen are exhibited everywhere. Each piece of work bears a plaque acknowledging the local artisan responsible. The café-restaurant celebrates the sea shore in a most unusual way - bottles of sand from beaches all over the world are displayed along one entire wall with shells, shipwreck copper, driftwood, and other beach finds adorning the walls.
The minister met with owner Phil Brown who reported that the business had initially expected to create 32 jobs, but now employs over 60 local people and provides ancillary business to dozens of other local trades. Phil Brown, said:
“Sea Shanty is a classic example of how public and private sector can work together for the benefit of both. Personally, the creative side has been huge fun and given all of us involved the opportunity to express our views in areas such as recycling, litter clearance and architectural environmental enhancement.
Food from local growers, fishermen and producers is used whenever possible and I’m proud to say that we have a large number of Welsh-speaking staff greeting and serving customers”.
Lord Elis-Thomas, said:
“As we celebrate our Year of the Sea this year it was an excellent opportunity to see how the Sea Shanty is making the most of our magnificent coastline and ensuring that that sense of place permeates every aspect of the business from décor to menus.
The Sea Shanty is part of a growing family of high quality coastal restaurants in Wales which are giving people an excellent experience of Welsh food and hospitality. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to support this development and wish the team every success for the future.”
Visit Welsh Government Tourism funding for details of funding currently available.