Headline Pay what you like - and charity wins

09 Feb Headline Pay what you like - and charity wins

OUR charity the Sunshine Fund is to benefit from a new restaurant opening.

Caribbean restaurant Turtle Bay opens its doors today inside the Co-operative building in Newcastle’s Newgate Street.

And it has teamed up with the Chronicle’s charity, which helps disabled children across the region, on a special opening day offer.

Those enjoying a first taste of the 50-plus authentic Caribbean dishes at the restaurant and bar are invited to ignore the menu price and instead pay whatever they think their food was worth.

The amount each table decides will then by matched by Turtle Bay and the total collected at the end of the day will be donated to the Sunshine Fund.

Ajith Jayawakimer, founder of Turtle Bay, which aims to capture the lively and colourful experience of the Caribbean, said: “We’re really delighted to have established this relationship with the Sunshine Fund ahead of opening our Newcastle restaurant.

“The work they do is inspiring.

“This idea means that the better our staff do during opening day, the more we’ll raise for the charity!”

The generous gesture is a welcome boost for the Sunshine Fund which raises money to buy specialist equipment to help improve the quality of life for children with disabilities and serious illnesses in the North East.

The money raised on Tuesday will be spent on anything from specialised wheelchairs to hoists and even equipment such as iPads which can help youngsters improve their communication skills.

The children’s families also enjoy knock-on benefits from the charity’s fund-raising as the equipment can enhance lives so much.

Clare Savory, its head of fundraising, said: “A huge thank-you to Turtle Bay for choosing to support the Sunshine Fund. We are very grateful for their support.”

And she added: “We encourage as many people as possible to visit the restaurant on Tuesday as the money raised will really make a huge difference to the children we can support.”

Turtle Bay’s Newcastle restaurant is the company’s first in the North East and the venture - an investment of £800,000 on the former Co-op site - has created 50 jobs.

It opens to the public from 11.30am today and the “pay what you want” rule will apply from noon until 9pm. The restaurant will then be daily from 11.30am.