The team behind a popular Indian restaurant in Norwich have reopened a closed city hotel - and say they hope it will encourage more people to ditch meat.
Vijay Jetani, Dalsukh Jetani and Ketan Vaghasiya have taken over the former Stracey Hotel, on Stracey Road, which closed in February 2020 when its owner got into financial difficulty.
They have since renamed it the Revado Hotel and reopened it to those travelling for essential reasons only under government guidelines.
It is also now home to Revado's Kitchen, which has outdoor seating and serves a mixture of Indian and world cuisine.
Mr Jetani, who also runs Namaste, on Queens Road, and the Green Eatery, on Opie Street, has long said his goal is to make as many people as possible adopt a meat-free diet, with his other ventures focusing on vegetarian and vegan food.
"We are passionate about the vegan and vegetarian diet, and we love to spread that diet and we utilise our businesses to do that," he said.
"We want to do more and more and there's no end to it. We don't want to stop until the whole world is vegan or vegetarian.
"People can stay with us and have a vegan and vegetarian dinner and breakfast. There are many hotels in the country and we [as non-meat eaters] find it in a struggle in some, and there are many others like us.
"Of course anyone can stay, anyone from any walk of life is welcome."
The team picked up the keys to the hotel on Christmas Eve and have spent lockdown refurbishing it and preparing for reopening, including installing gazebos and decking outside.
Mr Jetani said occupancy was already quite strong, and said bookings looked promising for June and July. If the government's roadmap goes to plan, they will be able to open fully from May 17.
He said while it was different to his other ventures, they all shared similarities.
"There is one thing consistent and that's the service and people," he said. "Though it is slightly different it's all a part of hospitality.
"We love it. Businesses are a tool - a lot of things flourish through the platform of business and it's a very powerful method."
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