She has never been one to shy away from controversy.
So when Heather Mills decided to buy a popular fish restaurant near her home, her first move was obvious: take fish off the menu.
Miss Mills plans to turn the seaside eaterie into a vegan restaurant, believed to be the first in a planned worldwide chain.
And there was bad news for staff as well as seafood-loving clientele: the current owner has laid them off and told them they will not be re-employed when the renovated cafe re-opens.
Miss Mills, 41, signed the deal to take over the Big Fish Cafe near her home in Hove, East Sussex, on Friday.
After initially agreeing to part with £255,000, Miss Mills, who clinched a £24million settlement in her divorce from Sir Paul McCartney, forced the price down to £140,000.
Former owner Nick Short said about the price fall: 'I have been well and truly worked over by Heather.'
He said the ex-glamour model had eaten there 'about 20 times' with Bea, her five-year-old daughter by Sir Paul.
'She even came in with Sir Paul before the divorce,' said Mr Short.
'I sold traditional fry-ups but veggie food was on the menu, too. They'd have veggie breakfasts and soya milk tea. Heather said she'd like to buy the place if it came on the market.
'Last July I decided to sell so I got in touch. I went to see her at her home and we made a verbal agreement for £255,000. That was later agreed in writing.
'The arrangement changed in November,' Mr Short told the Sunday Mirror. 'I got a letter from her lawyer saying the price had dropped to £140,000. It blamed the credit crunch and the "current economic climate".
'Her lawyer said there were other issues such as the cost of the ground rent going up and the need to renovate the windows. I was shocked, absolutely gutted.'
And he claimed: 'I'd put off other buyers who were offering the full price thinking I had a deal with Heather. There was nowhere else I could go.'
Mr Short, 49, from nearby Shoreham, added: 'At the end of the day she's got £24million in the bank - £100,000 is not a lot to her, but it is to me.'
He said Heather and her advisers had no plans to take on his two full-time and four part-time staff so he had to lay them off. 'They were like extended family,' he said. 'They all needed the money and the work.
'Heather told me she thinks the veggie cafe idea can work. I have my doubts though. I'm not sure how successful a vegan restaurant is going to be there.'
Last night, Miss Mills's publicist said: 'The real estate market around the country is falling and no one forced the owner to sell. I think Hove, any town really, will be well served by a healthy foods cafe like this.'
'The word gorilla was derived from the Greek word Gorillai (a "tribe of hairy women")'
That's excellent. I shall make special efforts to frequent it even when other options are nearer.
She may be a bit radio rental but this is great. Nice one Heather.
I loved the previous owner's sob story, like she shouldn't try to get the best deal like anybody else and that any new proprietor wouldn't look to change the staff, especially if the ethos and menu had changed totally. Daily Mail, gah.
Reading the comments under the Mail article is funny. Mail readers are such w@nkers.
I can get to the restaurant on my bike by cycling along the sea front and will do so as often as possible. I needed a reason for a daily bike ride since I work from home.
I'll go more often just to p1ss off the Mail readers.
How dare she buy a building yet not immediately hire the previous employees who worked in it (she's never interviewed) for her new different business!
How dare she attempt to save money and not over pay; remember how much money she got in the divorce? That's how we determine the price of goods and property for divorced women, not the intrinsic value of the goods or property!
"Former owner Nick Short said about the price fall: 'I have been well and truly worked over by Heather.'
How dare she negotiate for a good price. Women in business ventures? Next thing you know homosexuals will be allowed to do this sort of thing!
[My entire post was sarcastic, just to be sure people understand. The way that "newspaper" article was written was offensive. I didn't bother reading the comments.]
Putting my personal feelings aside about Heather, I admire her for wanting to open a world wide chain of vegan restaurants. Maybe she has found her calling in life!
I make no apologies for myself, my passions, my love, my honesty, my intensity, my soul. Reach beyond your fears and take all of me or nothing at all.
Whatever we think about Heather, at least she made a connection and went vegan. No chance of that in a million years for Paul and Linda.
Well certainly not for Linda. Perhaps Paul will sus it out before he pops his moptop clogs.
Going to take a ride past it tomorrow (later today now) to show solidarity..
^Could be her recipes she posts at her site: Fajitas, stir fry, Tex Mex chili, potatoes. Just a guess though but they sound yummy.
---
I tried looking for more stories about her restaurant from less biased sources and actually stumbled upon the most vitriolic hatred and loathing of her from site after site. Her crime is having the audacity to accept money in a divorce settlement and then not immediately giving it all away to charities, right? And then later, post divorce, when she does donate a million dollars of vegan food to a poor neighborhood in New York everyone is quick to point out "well she only did that to look good" or "well that was really more Paul's money than it was her money". Jeez, world, give her a break! I'm glad at least that when she calls the tabloids on their lies she successfully forces them to retract their falsehoods on several occasions. That rarely happens here in the states.
I hope they'll do a good breakfast.
They were working on the place today when I went past. Hopefully it will open soon.
Since she has rather bizarrely embellished details of her life in the past that the tabloids were only too happy to print when she was with Saint Paul, sorry Sir Paul, it is good to see that when they just make nasty stuff up about her that they do have to retract it eventually. I hope that this new venture signals a more secure feeling of self-worth for her and a growing attachment to veganism in spite of society's trivialities.
Putting my personal feelings aside about Heather, I admire her for wanting to open a world wide chain of vegan restaurants. Maybe she has found her calling in life!
I think she must have read a post I made on the vegan forum a few months ago about opening a chain of vegan restaurants if I won the lottery!
I like Sandra, she keeps making me giggle. Daft little lady - Frosty
I had heard she originally had plans to release frozen vegan foods but she probably realized that would just make people say, "See! See! Just like I told you. She's trying to be just like Linda. That c*#t. She will never be another Linda!"
[This is an amalgam of some of the comments I see written about her at other sites]
Well certainly not for Linda. Perhaps Paul will sus it out before he pops his moptop clogs.
Hope so. Einstein didn't become a strict vegetarian until his seventies, although he was sympathetic to the cause his entire life. (and strict vegetarianism back in the 1950's was sort of like veganism of today, if you know what I mean.)
^ "But she upset regulars by taking fish off the menu and replacing it with plant-based food."
Um, the place isn't even open yet, right? Maybe that newspaper owns a crystal ball and can see the future.
"At the same time she's expecting flak from some veggies for taking money from the Whopper chain in the first place."
How dare she do business with an omni fast food chain like Burger King. She should have gone with a vegan one instead.....
Oh, wait a minute, that's right, there are none. Never mind.
Heather Mills has announced the name of the new restaurant she hopes to franchise around the world.
The Argus can exclusively reveal that Ms Mills’ latest venture called V-Bites will open at Hove Lagoon in July.
Work is well underway at the former The Big Fish cafe and Ms Mills is also planning a number of additional features at the site, including an ice rink in the winter.
Ms Mills also revealed a sneak preview of some of the decor and menus that visitors can expect to see at the vegan restaurant.
She said: “It’s for everybody. It will be very family orientated during the day but it will be for all ages. My grandmother lived here for 38 years so I really want it to be somewhere elderly people can go as well.
“It is going to be really funky, with nice music and ambience and good staff.”
Ms Mills said that each room would have a different feel to it, with one turned into a family creche area where children can play with interactive screens which will teach them about different fruits and vegetables and a dining area which will serve a daily selection of vegan dishes from around the world.
Ms Mills bought The Big Fish cafe for £140,000.
She said: “I have wanted to take over this place for many years. It needed a whole revamp.
“It has been made into a very hip 21st century place.”
Ms Mills said the menu will be affordable and visitors to the nearby park will also be able to buy vegan burgers from a serving hatch.
She said: “I think the food is really going to surprise everyone. Most people’s diet is 70% vegan anyway, as they eat rice, pasta and bread, but they just don’t associate the two.
“What is going to shock people most is the meat replacements. I have been working on them for seven years and they have a real meat taste.”
The restaurant will open from 9am until midnight seven days a week.
Ms Mills added that she plans to franchise the company worldwide.
She said: “We are not going to change the world with just one restaurant.
“What many people don’t realise is that the biggest contribution to global warming is the production of meat and dairy.
“I am not telling people to stop eating meat and dairy altogether. I’m just saying come and try it one day a week, have a nice meal and do your bit for the environment.”
Ms Mills is setting up a Twitter account from Friday which will include restaurant updates. To follow her visit www.twitter.com/heatherofficial See The Magazine in Saturday’s Argus for a recipe for Heather Mills’ Leafy Green and Beefy (Soy protein) Stir Fry.
'The word gorilla was derived from the Greek word Gorillai (a "tribe of hairy women")'
Thanks for that Gorilla. I look forward to checking it out. (I wonder whether these new mock meat recipes will be all that different from the usual. Would be nice to have some New York quality seitan!)
Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything. - Floyd Dell
Not sure I would want to eat anything that has a real meat taste but a new vegan restaurant is very exciting!
Brighton & Hove definitely needs more vegan restaurants.
the 'real meat tasting' mock meats are probably more to encourage non-veg*ns. i expect they'll have other things too. i've been trying to find out more about it but i don't understand Twitter and there's not much else out there yet.
'The word gorilla was derived from the Greek word Gorillai (a "tribe of hairy women")'
Brighton & Hove definitely needs more vegan restaurants.
the 'real meat tasting' mock meats are probably more to encourage non-veg*ns. i expect they'll have other things too. i've been trying to find out more about it but i don't understand Twitter and there's not much else out there yet.
When does it open Gorilla
Last edited by Buddha Belly; May 29th, 2009 at 06:59 PM.
Reason: Ooops didn't read the other posts
Re: Heather Mills News x 2 !
veganlinda
lovin your posts emzy n BGW
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[My entire post was sarcastic, just to be sure people understand. The way that "newspaper" article was written was offensive. I didn't bother reading the comments.]
i found the tone of the article quite amusing anyway.
)
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