A SEAFRONT restaurant is closing and giving all its contents to charity – before reopening under a new name.

The venue that was home to award-winning Alfresco in Brighton will reopen at the end of November with a different name and owner.

The new Brighton Beach Club will serve “modern, British food, focusing more on vegetarian and vegan choices”.

Helen Sprason, operations manager for Brighton Beach Club, said: “This city has a lot of foodies and this is certainly the trend they are steering towards. We will be serving delicious, healthy food and trendy cocktails.

“It will be a complete refurbishment of the space and type of food served, so the Colasurdo family who have been running this restaurant since 1996 have donated everything to charity.”

Staff at Alfresco helped organise the remaining food and load up three industrial fridges into a van for Sussex Homeless Support, the charity responsible for the Clock Tower homeless kitchen.

Jim Deans, volunteer and head organiser at Sussex Homeless Support, said: “This is great for the charity because we have just built a new community kitchen.

“The Levellers [band] gave us £4,800 which helped build a new kitchen, so it’s great having more stuff to fill it.

Thrilled

“The old Brighton attitude is roll your sleeves up and get stuck in. To me that seemed to be something of the past, but this shows it is coming back.”

The Martlets, a charity which helps the terminally ill in Brighton and Hove, and YMCA, which offers housing support to struggling single men and women, divided the restaurant furniture between them.

Barry Jones, a member of staff at the Hove-based Martlets said: “It’s a really good idea. Most of this furniture will be used to sell in our charity shops and raise money for us.

“It’s good to see money going back into Brighton and towards people that need it.”

Dee Simson, mayor of Brighton, said she was sad to see the family-run restaurant close but thrilled about the decisions to donate everything to charity.

Ms Simson runs non-profit community cafe Java in Woodingdean and said she often struggles to find businesses that donate enough.

She said: “I have never known a business in the city like this. The Colasurdo family at Alfresco have been fantastic.

“It breaks my heart the thought of this all going to the skip given it is all really good stuff so this is such a great effort.”

Colasurdo family member and new general manager of the Brighton Beach Club Alexandre said: “Between all these charities we have managed to strip this restaurant and it’s a great feeling that none of it is going to the dump.

Generations

“I am sad that Alfresco is closing.

“We have seen generations come back here celebrating their wedding, their 50th birthday, their 80th birthday and their diamond wedding anniversary.

“The family feel here is incredible. Some of the staff have been here for more than 20 years. Luckily about 70 per cent of the current staff will be staying to work at the new Brighton Beach Club.

John Dickson, head chef at Alfresco said: “What they are doing is wonderful.

“This is the sixth time I have seen a refurbishment of a restaurant and the first time I have seen a restaurant give away to charity. The other place I worked in they just threw everything away.”

City Pub Co, which owns The Lion and Lobster and The Walrus in the city as well as many other pubs in the South, will open the Brighton Beach Club on the November 30 in time for its first booked wedding.

Ms Sprason said: “The owner runs a range of different places but they make sure to keep them all unique.

“The manager at City Pub Co is Australian and loves Bondi beach.

“Given the great seafront location he wants to bring the Bondi beach feel to Brighton, hence it’s new name The Brighton Beach Club.”