Surinder Paul has owned the Trattoria Verde in Southend for over 10 years – a world away from his original career as an IT architect for a high street bank. Years of working in Turin and Milan gave him an appetite for proper Italian food – so it was only natural he would eventually set up a restaurant in his home town of Southend-on-Sea.
The hospitality and restaurant business has seen some enormous changes and challenges over the last few months, not least with enforced tiers and another national lockdown. However, Surinder has seen this as an opportunity to capitalise on the requirements his establishment needs to cater not only for his customers, but for the “new normal” that has become ingrained into our daily lives.
“I have a very loyal clientele base, and saw a requirement to make them feel safe when they dine with us. We’ve installed new screens and partitions, and landscaped a beautiful outdoor area – meaning that social distancing will be observed and won’t be too intrusive when we are able to open again – and more importantly, our customers will feel secure.
“It was also the perfect opportunity whilst we were doing the work, to install some updated equipment. The addition of a blast chiller, a walk-in freezer and a new pizza fridge has considerably increased our storage capabilities.”
Mr Paul sourced his equipment from Adexa Direct Limited, and secured the finance from Kennet Equipment Leasing.
“I have been working with Kennet for over 17 years now, and wouldn’t go anywhere else. My contact, Lucy Lamb, has always looked out for us, making sure we have the best finance deals and turning any request for finance round quickly. I’d certainly never entertain going anywhere else.”
Lucy Lamb of Kennet added “We absolutely love working with Trattoria Verde, and have seen Surinders’ business go from strength to strength. It’s these partnerships with our customers that gives us great pride in what we do as a finance company.”
