Rockfish hires former Burger & Lobster MD to drive south coast expansion

Dave Strauss, the former managing director of Goodman, London steak restaurant group, and Burger & Lobster, has joined Rockfish as restaurant director to oversee its expansion on the south coast.

Rockfish, the seafood restaurant group founded by food writer and seafood ambassador Mitch Tonks, has five coastal sites in the south west, and also owns the Seahorse restaurant in Dartmouth. The company, which will open its sixth Rockfish restaurant in Exeter Quays in March has already identified a number of suitable locations along the south coast.

Strauss will join the company in February and work with operations director Mat Prowse helping to open Exeter and then oversee the openings that follow, beginning with Poole later this year.

Strauss said: “Rockfish is a rare thing – something that is expanding while maintaining standards and ethics and with an excellent reputation among the foodie community across the country. I’m excited to get started and start to help build a business on the south coast, where I grew up and where I now live again.”

Tonks added: “I’m thrilled that Dave is joining. Rockfish has been a great employer for the people on the south coast since we first opened, and from time to time has also attracted some fantastic people from the London restaurant scene who wanted to be part of something special and have a different way of life. To have someone of Dave’s calibre really reinforces what a special business it is and how much scope we believe it has.”