Reeves Restaurant Dunster

17/06/2026

Reeves Restaurant Update

There is much to report this week as that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel is growing ever brighter.
We very nearly have a complete roof…. Well done to Woody and Nathan of AVH roofing who worked tirelessly throughout the very heavy showers.
Delbridges of Minehead have started fitting the new windows which they have handmade and they look absolutely gorgeous.
At times this week , whilst trying to tend to the garden , I have felt emotions verging on despair, just wondering how on earth we are ever going to get it back to how it was…. But as if by magic Mark sent Shane in today and he has done a miraculous job of tidying and clearing up.
We had great news yesterday, the insurance company have agreed to Aspen’s quote for re-fitting the commercial kitchen so now all we have to do is get the new Kitchen ordered , a meeting with all involved and wait for a date to them for them to start.
Ben has been working flat out preparing the restaurant for redecorating next week and we have built up a small mortgage buying paint samples…. I swear I must be the most indecisive person in the world.
Thank you so much, Dean and Colin for your very much needed advice and support in the makeover of our restaurant.
Thank you everyone for all your support and we very much look forward to seeing you all when we reopen, which is now only a matter of weeks away . 🥂🍾

06/06/2026

Reeves Restaurant Update

Nine months on from the destruction and devastation unleashed by the fire , the glimmer of light is getting brighter by the day .
There has been a whole team of professionals working their magic under the direction of Mark Sully of Reframe. Mikey , with the help of Albie, has totally rebuilt the fire damaged roof despite the rain stopping play on occasions! Ian, Mike and George from Electrics are half way through rewiring the restaurant and the roofers will be here all next week to re roof the kitchen …. Once water tight , the work will begin to rebuild the kitchen from scratch . It was been lovely to see so many familiar faces back on site and the building is loving the energy and the buzz …. although apologies to the neighbours for the noise level ! We had a really positive site visit yesterday with Mark from Reframe and Matt, the surveyor from Tranby who has been with us from day one of our journey …. their excellent working relationship and professional commitment has been the driving force of this project and we consider ourselves blessed to have such an amazing team of people rebuilding our business and home .
Thank you to Huw for keeping my “Hippy “ garden in check during its shared space with a building site !
We are now writing lots of to do lists and thinking about the next menus as the reality of re opening becomes almost tangible and there is a frisson about excitement in the air .
Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support and good wishes .💐

15/05/2026

Reeves restaurant update

As we approach the middle of May, we finally have a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
The ping-pong game of bureaucracy seems to have settled a little and Reframe are now in a position where they can send contractors in to start the renovation. Paul has been working his socks off to build the stud framing in the kitchen and toilet block, his attention to detail is faultless. Dan and Clint have plumbed in the fixtures and fittings for the toilet block and I am very excited that we will finally have to Loos that we are proud of.
Ian will be starting the process of rewiring the restaurant in early June and as soon as we get the okay from the insurance company for Aspen to redesign and renovate the kitchen, then it will be all guns blazing. The roofers are coming in next week to remove the tiles , clean them, re-batten, reline it and get it all looking ship shape…. It looks like they have chosen the best weather to be doing this next week.
Meanwhile, we have been finishing unpacking and finding new homes for our precious belongings, some of which we had forgotten that we had so we have definitely had some magical moments. Many thanks go to Annabelle and Loraine this week for returning to us some of our bits and bobs which they have restored with such beautiful attention to detail, we are so grateful. 🙏
We are continuing to enjoy our time as a family and out of all the trauma and shock over the past few months we have definitely been blessed with having so much family time and it has certainly eased the burden .
Thank you all of you for following our progress and for your lovely comments .
We will soon be back doing what we love 💕🥂🍾

02/05/2026

Reeves restaurant update

We are feeling much more positive this week as the overwhelming task of unpacking, cleaning and repositioning is getting smaller.
It helps that the house martins, swallows and swifts have arrived along with the sunshine to boost the feel good factor. This year I shall make sure I have the time to lay flat on my back and watch these amazing birds performing their joyful aerial displays. Their tenacity, resilience and loyalty are inspirational.

Last weekend, I made the most of not working weekends at the moment and spent the most precious time with ‘The Posse’; my close girlfriends back from when I was a teacher. That was the first time we have collectively spent time together for 13 years and it was like we had never been apart. We laughed until we cried, we sorted out all the problems of the world and compared aches and pains, collagens and gummies, bellyfat and textured legs…. It was the most fabulous weekend and made me realise how much I had missed them and girly company over the years.

Our dear friend Huw, freely gave up his time and expertise to pull my hippie garden into some kind of shape so now I can enjoy it in the sunshine rather than despair of its unruly nature

I am also extremely grateful to my friend Leo Noad of Flourish Career Training Ltd who also  generously gave her time to support me as I was going through my emotional low point. She listened with empathy and patience and found a pattern in my thoughts which was not necessarily beneficial to me or anyone around me. She spent time after our meeting analysing our discussion and putting together a package of ideas which I will work through in my own time to rethink how I may move forward in order to benefit myself and everyone around me. She is extremely inspirational and motivational and really helped me to see the wood for the trees; as a result, I feel clearer, fresher and almost like a weight has been lifted. I can thoroughly recommend her services if you are going through any kind of crisis in your life.

Regarding the restaurant, we have had many meetings this week. We met with Harry from Aspen’s and have redesigned the commercial Kitchen; we met with Mike the joiner and Carpenter who is redesigning our bar, we met with the plumbers to discuss a new toilet block among other things and we met with Ian the electrician. Throughout the course of these discussions we were so impressed with their professionalism, integrity and problem-solving. They are all young men who have acquired so much specialist knowledge in their areas, it has been a real eye opener. Mark Sully , CEO of Reframe has chosen his contractors extremely well and we are very confident that once work gets underway it will be done to an impeccable standard.
The building regulations officer has been and made his observations so now quotations have to go to the insurance company and once they have been cleared , work can start in earnest. We cannot wait; the sooner it is started the sooner we can get back to doing the job we love, with the staff members we love, for the clientele we love.
Thanking everybody for your support. Please believe me when I say it is a huge bolster. 💕

24/04/2026

Reeves restaurant update

So sorry for the length of time it has taken for this update. To be honest, I have not been of the right mindset as the last few weeks have been emotionally exhausting, my head has been in a tizz wazz!
We have been doing a Reeves version of the Marie Condo art of tidying which has opened an entire Pandora’s box of emotions.
Firstly, sorting out clothes…Who would have thought that they come attached with so many memories…. Weddings, Funerals, High days and holidays; the hardest thing was parting with things that you love knowing that even if you could ever fit in them again, you would look more like mutton dressed as lamb; the sudden realisation that you’ll never get those days back again was humbling. A friend advised me to take pleasure in the fact that those beautiful garments would bring somebody else joy and I honestly hope they do….. as long as I do not see them wearing them 😂😂😂

Then there was the job of going through papers; folders and folders and folders…. Birth notes., developmental journals of the children’s progress, diagnostic letters announcing they have Fragile x syndrome, endless appointments with paediatricians, speech therapists, occupational therapists, gastroenterologists… the list goes on, dragging up such anxious times; I remember at one point we referred to Musgrove as Hotel Musgrove as we seem to be there more often than we were home.

Then there are tens of daily diaries documenting Rivers progress throughout opportunity groups, nurseries, Pre School First School and secondary school with words and pictures, that I cannot bring myself to throw away. All the grief associated with those early years has been stirred up and has felt very raw, but on the other hand how many people are lucky enough to have every school day of their child’s time documented in such detail.

And then , to top it all there comes the guilt of wallowing in such negative emotions when we have so much to be grateful for and are so much luckier than so many.

Regarding the restaurant, progress seems to have groundto a bit of a halt due to us been given time to settle back home and the Easter break but we are hoping that this time next week we will have dates in our diary for real progress so we can get back to doing the job that we love. That time cannot come soon enough.
Thank all of you for your support, it means so much. 🙏

10/04/2026

07/04/2026

This is going to be the biggest sale yet! Bring plenty of bags

Just a week to go to our Nearly New Sale on Saturday 11th April!

We will be in the Memorial Hall on Thursday 9th sorting through the many fabulous donations. Donations can be dropped off here in the morning so that we can size and price them in time for the sale.

All proceeds from the sale goes towards putting on the Winter Festival and raising monies for Dunster groups and charities.

29/03/2026

Reeves update

Sadly, another torrid week dealing with grime. I cannot believe the extent to which the soot has travelled. I had some cherished Latin books from when I was at school that had their own sleeves, the soot had even managed to ingress these and leave their greasy foul marks. We have spent all week washing, cleaning and sanding.
It has been soul destroying, to top it all somebody has badly damaged the rear of our car without leaving a note. People can be so selfish.
On a positive note , we received planning permission on Friday to carry out the building works and we have a meeting on Tuesday with all parties concerned to set out the order in which everything will be done.
Fingers crossed, we will be back in business, routine and normality as soon as possible.
Thank you to all of you who read these posts and leave lovely messages of support, they are much appreciated and hugely valued 💐

20/03/2026

Reeves update

We’ve been back in our home for two weeks and I am not going to lie; it has been emotionally and physically brutal. No longer wrapped in the hug of our seaside home but instead facing on an hourly basis, the loss, the damage and the uncertainty of when we will be able to reopen again. 
We mustn’t let this negativity fester, as it too will pass , as each day brings a new page to this chapter.
The children have settled in very well and are happy with their teenage bedrooms; the dogs are loving every minute of being back on home ground and Crumpet is becoming an intrepid explorer and is absolutely fascinated by looking at everything this is happening outside the windows.

Please learn from our mistake and make sure you have contents insurance; you may not think your stuff has any value, but when you have lost a lot , every small thing carries value, not only that, without contents insurance you will not get any insurance help with the storage of your possessions or with the rent of your temporary accommodation.

Thanks to our window cleaner, Malcolm Grist , who not only overlooked the fact that I unwittingly did not pay him in September , he also waived the fee today … this was extra ordinarily generous and we are so grateful to have lovely clean windows again .

My nana used to say “ this life we live in is really hard to beat , you get a thorn with every rose but aren’t the roses sweet”

05/03/2026

Reeves restaurant update
Six months to the day since we were thrown from the crest of a wave ,the time has come to reflect.
When we moved in to the cottage in September, the Sun was delicately kissing the garden rendering it possible to sit outside and take in our new beautiful environment and start the healing process, before it slowly sank into the autumn and left us in shade

Perched above the sea, we have been able to see so many different lights, patterns, flows and sea murmurations. Sometimes you see the white horses being lifted by the wind and other times the water just looks still ,oily and marbled . You can literally see the weather as it unfolds, every type of cloud has been a feast to the eyes .
We are eye to eye with our territorial neighbours, the buzzard and the peregrine falcon who amaze us with their falconry displays.
This special place has been one of healing, calmness, and stillness.

Yes…. we have lost a lot.
Yes …the stress and worry and the feeling that we are letting clients, staff and suppliers down has been monumental
Yes….. the restless and sleepless nights have been many

However, for all that we have lost and suffered, we have gained tenfold.
Everything we have lost , can, in time be replaced.
Everything we have gained is priceless;
The kindness and generosity of folk who have given emotionally, practically, physically and financially remains the most overwhelming and humbling experience,
Time with friends and family that we have missed out on for the last 20 years has been lovely to share.
Quality time with our children…. Even six months in and we are still enjoying cooking an evening meal and sitting down at the table to eat together, the novelty has not worn off.

Now as we prepare ourselves to return home, the Sun has been tantalisingly creeping up the fields inch by inch and is very nearly back on our garden.

We are returning to our home which has been lovingly restored and is finally compliant in every aspect, everything has been rewired and replumbed and the house is feeling happy. The contracting company, Reframe , have used the most professional subcontractors throughout who have listened to our needs and responded accordingly. We could not be more impressed and we look forward to seeing them in phase 2 when the major work on the restaurant and Kitchen will proceed.
We are still aiming to be back in business in June, so please keep looking out for our updates.

Thank you to all of you for your support and your interest.
Thank you so much to the Brown family who were there from the start to help clear the house and come up with practical, sensible ideas which has made our journey such a positive experience.

Here are some memories of our journey.