ALL UNDER ONE ROOF
A
fter establishing themselves, some businesses are happy to coast on reputation or past glories and never strive to reinvent what they have to offer. Suffice to say, The River Inn finds no comfort in getting by on pre-existing name value and 16 long years since opening their doors, they still feel duty-bound to provide a diversity of dining experience for their community. Although they, like all of us, were naturally disheartened when the pandemic took hold, enterprising director and chef Jason Andrew soon realised that adversity had provided an opportunity to reassess his business. “It really came about through a lot of sitting in the house and the indecision over what was coming 34 MILL
next. I’ve been working in this industry for 25 years and 14 hour shifts, five days a week was the norm even before I had my own business,” Jason revealed. “So, I’m not used to having time on my hands. “Getting ready for re-opening gave us a purpose and being shut for a while generally means that when it’s time to go, you want people to be like ‘wow.’ I didn’t want them to think that we were stuck in a time warp, so it was the perfect time to invest and get the place lifted. “When we had the first lockdown, we focused on the beer garden,” Jason continued. “Then, we got the [Mill takeaway] van, before refurbishing the inside and coming up with the new sports bar and [Anise] Indian restaurant.”
Fully aware that he was leading with his instincts and entering uncharted waters, Jason is delighted with the response that each new addition to The River Inn has received. “The majority of the locals have always been supportive of everything in the area and they go out of their way to put money in all of the individual tills. Considering there was nothing like it in Houston and Crosslee, Anise has been really well received,” Jason enthused. “Before, they’d need to go into Glasgow for that sort of food but now, they can walk here and walk back. “Some people still think it’s me in here trying to make a few kormas, but I’ve partnered up with Zahid and he, along with the chefs, have produced
Photos by r7cmedia
Eager to make up for lost time, The River Inn is ushering in a bold new era for food and drink in Renfrewshire.
