A Cleethorpes restaurant owner is hoping to have a royal start to his new business venture.

Mick Taylor, owner of the new Boaters restaurant on the Cleethorpes Promenade wants Prince Charles to officially open the venue. After seeing in the Grimsby Telegraph that the Prince would be arriving at Cleethorpes station, Mr Taylor decided there could be an opportunity for a very special opening.

He said: "Cleethorpes station is only across the road and I'm sure Prince Charles could just pop across and quickly cut a ribbon.

"I have been trying to contact the organisers of the trip to see if they can spare some time to come to the restaurant.

"It would be a real honour for me to be the owner of a venue that had been opened by royalty. Not many places in Cleethorpes can claim that."

But Mr Taylor fears his request may be turned down.

He said: "I thought I should at least try. I just know that I would have kicked myself if after the Prince's visit, I thought of the idea and was not able to do anything.

"I know that it is unlikely that he will open the restaurant, but then again, he strikes me as the kind of person who may sometimes depart from the schedule.

"He is also known as an art lover and my wife Alison has painted a wonderful mural for the restaurant. I am sure he would appreciate the chance to have a look at that."

The restaurant is scheduled to open next month.

Yesterday, the Prince of Wales surprised hundreds of people gathered on Cleethorpes Promenade, by stopping to officially open a new restaurant.

Mick Taylor, owner of the Boaters Beach Restaurant, is preparing to open the venue on February 1. The owner of Boaters Beach Restaurant spoke and wrote to Government officials in Newcastle, Nottingham, Leeds and London, before finally being told that it was unlikely His Royal Highness would officially launch the establishment.

Speaking to the Grimsby Telegraph before the visit, Mick said: "I know that it is unlikely that he will open the restaurant, but, then again, he strikes me as the kind of person who may sometimes depart from the schedule."

And that's exactly what the Prince did yesterday, when he stopped his police escort and cut the ribbon at the beach restaurant.

Mick said: "I spent a long time ringing different Government offices and just kept getting passed from one person to another.

"Eventually, I spoke to the Lord Lieutenant and they said it was extremely unlikely that the Prince would disrupt his very tight schedule to open the restaurant.

"At each stage, I was told that perhaps if I had phoned earlier, I would have had more chance. I was almost kicking myself that I hadn't thought of the idea sooner."

However, undaunted by the repeated set-backs, Mick's wife Alison decided they should make a sign to put up in the window of Boaters and tie a ribbon across the door.

The sign simply said: "Please sir, would you kindly cut our ribbon?"

Alison said: "Mick said that we didn't have a chance, but I thought we should give it one more go. Although I was at work, I told Mick he should put the sign up in the restaurant.

"I went to work and just hoped that perhaps the Prince would see the sign and stop."

Mick was excited about the Royal visit and was filming the event from an upstairs window at the restaurant.

He was filming the Prince in his car, when, suddenly, he saw him stop outside.

Mick said: "I almost flew down the stairs. I just didn't know what to think."

The heir to the throne had broken his tight schedule to cut the ribbon and then spent around five minutes touring the restaurant and speaking to staff.

Mick said: "He cut the ribbon and I thought that after that he would just leave. But, instead, he took a real interest in the restaurant.

"He commented on the wonderful view and said it was very nice to be able to see the beach.

"He had a good look around and said how nice the decor was and even asked where we bought our wicker chairs.

"He was very natural and made everyone feel calm. I wasn't nervous at the time, but afterwards I could hardly speak. I was just so pleased."

Mick is now hoping the Prince may come back to dine at Boaters.

He said: "I will be writing to thank him and to ask if he would like to come back for something to eat. Who knows, I might just get lucky again.

"We will be making a plaque to put outside and perhaps we will have some specials on the menu with a Royal theme."

But, overall, Mick thought the Royal opening was an honour for the town as well as the restaurant.

He said: "This is something that the community should be proud of as well. This is a venue for the local community and now it has the Royal seal of approval.

"There's not many places that can say that."

Cleethorpes' newest restaurant has opened - with the promise to set a dainty dish before the future king.

Boaters Beach Restaurant, which was officially opened by Prince Charles when he visited the Grimsby area 11 days ago, welcomed customers for the first time on Sunday. And proprietor Mick Taylor issued an invitation for the heir to the throne to return and take a seat.

Mr Taylor said: "We will invite him over - we're going to send him a few pictures of the restaurant and we will invite him for a meal.

"We are just so privileged that he opened it. It would be unfair to him if we used his name for marketing purposes, but we've got a lovely plaque on the wall, and we can look at that every time we walk in the door.

"We've had a bit of interest from magazines, but we want to keep our feet on the ground and concentrate on opening the restaurant. We want to look after the local people first."

The restaurant looks straight out onto the beach, and also features an unusual "water wall" feature inside. Mr Taylor's wife Alison has painted a colourful mural on one wall, and palm leaves and bamboo decorate the walls and windows.

The 60-seater restaurant is a contrast to the traditional seafront chippy.

Mr Taylor said: "It was a brave decision, but I think a lot of people who come to this area do want something different, which is a bit classy.

"There has been a lot being done in Cleethorpes in the next five years, and I want to be a part of that. I think many people are putting in a lot of work to make Cleethorpes better."

Mr Taylor recently had to close three coffee outlets in Freshney Place, Grimsby. He has re-employed all the staff in his new venture and hopes to welcome back customers.

Mr Taylor said: "This is the premier league, and my staff recognise that.

"No matter where they live, they all want to be a part of it."

The restaurant opens from 9am, serving coffees, teas and light meals. . A varied menu of evening meals is served between 5pm and 9.30pm, with the doors finally closing at 11pm.

There is also a Sunday lunch menu. The premises are licensed, and visitors who would just like a drink at a table are welcome.

And not all visitors have to be royal.

Mr Taylor said: "We cater for everybody. Everything's within a decent price range, and we hope everybody will try us out."

Cleethorpes has come top of the class to win a Seaside Award with straight As and as the resort prepares for another busy holiday season, kicking-off tomorrow with the Easter weekend, reporter Phillip Norton spoke to a few of the seafront traders about their thoughts on the award.

Twelve months ago, Cleethorpes narrowly missed out on an A grade in the A to D rating system of the Encams Seaside Award. But today, tourist chiefs can fly the coveted yellow and blue flag knowing the resort passed a rigorous survey with flying colours.

In the seven main areas the resort was marked on, Cleethorpes scored 100 per cent in three of them - access to the beach, the control of dogs and enforcement of rules on the beach, and the maintenance of the beach and its facilities.

The resort notched up 94 per cent for the information provided to visitors through signs and flags - one of the highest category scores in the country - as well as 94 per cent for water safety.

It was awarded 85 per cent for facilities and amenities, while the cleanliness of the resort was marked at 82 per cent.

Mick Taylor, proprietor of Boaters Beach Restaurant, one of the latest attractions to open in the resort, said the location of his seafront premises was too good to turn down.

"The news of the award is not surprising to me - the view from our window is of a beach which is immaculate most days," he said.

"To look out and see a beautifully clean beach is absolutely amazing. The way the guys come on a daily basis to clean it is great, and many customers comment from here on how good the beach looks."

Mr Taylor, whose restaurant was opened by Prince Charles in January, told how the recent success of the resort was a deciding factor in where he located his business.

"With the buildings which have been constructed over recent years, the area is looking up," he said.

"People would say it was a brave decision, but there are so many nice people who visit here who want something different to fish and chips, and the success of the restaurant so far has proved it.

"I am born and bred here, so I wanted to do something for the area, and in order to make a good business decision you have to look at the best location. I would say this is the best location in the town."

He added: "In the past eight years there has been a massive regeneration scheme, and I think with the plans people have got, including North East Lincolnshire Council, Cleethorpes will go from strength to strength."

Hit series Friends comes to an end tonight - but its influence will still be felt among the devoted fans of North East Lincolnshire.

Grimbarians have become furious coffee drinkers as cafe culture caught on as the show became a hit, and when it comes to hair the county's women are far more ardent followers of the fashion since Friends was first screened in the UK a decade ago. And according to Mike Taylor, owner of Cleethorpes' Boaters Beach Restaurant and The Coffee Stop - two of the area's alternatives to Central Perk - our new-found caffeine addiction shows no signs of disappearing.

He said: "My coffee bill over the past three years is around six figures. That's a massive increase for coffee in this area and that could be due to the effect of television programmes."

Mr Taylor, who described his son, Paul, as an "absolute fanatic" of the Channel 4 series, opened Boaters cafe in Freshney Place in 1994 - the same year Friends' pilot episode was aired.

He said the timing helped the cafe "catch the market", but that the series' ending would not affect the caffeine intake of most people across the county.

He said: "I think the old-fashioned tea rooms are now old hat."

Debbie Murray (29), of Barton, won two awards for her journalism, scooping the Sony best entertainment and the NTL best feature awards.

She said: "It is really nice to be recognised by people in the television industry for the work we did in making the programmes."

The entertainment award, shared with Simon Roe (28), was on Prince Charles' surprise opening of new restaurant Boaters when he visited Cleethorpes.