A family-owned restaurant and a favourite haunt for celebrities is to shut after more than 50 years.

Staff at Aqua 43 in Albion Street, Broadstairs, will bid farewell to customers on Sunday as owner Trevor Evans retires after 27 years at the helm.

The 64-year-old, whose parents owned the site before him, says he hasn’t had an August off for more than 50 years and is now looking forward to his work-free summers.

Aqua 43 specialised in traditional meals such as pies and roast dinners, and has fed famous faces such as EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy and Harry Potter’s Timothy Spall.

Reflecting on his time at the restaurant, where he worked as a youngster, Mr Evans said: “I’ve been in the kitchen for years, not had a summer off, not had a bank holiday off, not had a weekend off, not had an Easter off.”

“We have the same people coming every week and they have the same meal at the same time right the way through the year.

“It's not just a restaurant, as time goes on, the regular customers get to know each other.

“We’ve had EastEnders stars, Michael Portillo with his bright trousers, Joe Swash, Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter – it’s been quite popular.”

Formerly known as the Clifton Hotel and Restaurant, Trevor’s parents took over the building in the 1970s after moving down from Birmingham in hopes of a life by the sea.

The hotel closed, with Trevor turning the upstairs area into flats whilst keeping the downstairs as a restaurant.

The establishment was rebranded Aqua 43 in 2005 – more than 30 years after the hotel closed.

“The hotel was closed so I thought the Clifton Hotel and Restaurant name was a bit pointless,” explained Mr Evans, a dad-of-three.

“My birth sign is Aquarius, we’re right by the beach so I thought about aqua meaning water.

“Somebody said to me ‘if you want somebody to remember your business, put a number on it’, so I did that, which was a waste of time. People say ‘oh, you're Aqua 50-something-something’ – they remember the aqua, but not the number.”

Situated next door, Bessie’s Tea Parlour, run by Trevor’s wife Karen, occupies the former dining lounge of the hotel. It will stay open.

After the physical demands of running a restaurant, Mr Evans is looking forward to a more peaceful way of life, which will include watching Dad’s Army and helping his daughter with her horses, at his home near Wingham.

He said: “Because it's such a physical job, it takes its toll – I do all the cooking, so I'm still picking up bags of potatoes and running around on my own. I've struggled last summer physically – really struggled - and I thought it just feels right to go now.

“In the lockdown, I don't think there was a day where I got up in the morning and said ‘I've got nothing to do today’. There's always something and now I can do them all at my own pace rather than worrying about getting back here.”