AN ESTABLISHED restaurateur is heading to his father’s birthplace and taking charge of a business in Dirleton.

Brothers Jack and James Findlay have been at the helm of the Waterside Bistro, next to the River Tyne in Haddington, for more than two-and-a-half years.

The eaterie was founded by their dad Jim, who also previously ran The Drovers Inn in East Linton, and The Rocks on Dunbar’s Marine Road.

Now, Jack is expanding the empire by taking over The Castle Inn.

He told the Courier: “We have had quite a soft opening, we just opened yesterday [last Wednesday].

“I think the area is lovely and my dad was born in Dirleton, so there is a little bit of heritage there.

“We will be basing it a lot on the Waterside model and obviously myself and my brother will be working alongside each other but from afar.

“We have had tremendous success at the Waterside and we both felt it was probably the right time to look elsewhere.

“The Castle Inn was the perfect fit for us.

“It will be myself here and my brother is still based in Haddington.

“My dad is ‘retired’ but will just be popping in and making sure we are going in the right direction.”

Twenty-eight-year-old Jack said they already had a good team in place and there were no plans for any “drastic” changes.

A focus would be placed on locally sourced food, with a daily list of specials.

He added: “I would also like to mention the former owners John Dawson and Bert D’Agostino, and want to pay a bit of a tribute to them for their fine work in the trade.

“John has been fantastic with me and very helpful.”