THE shuttered Nude Dunes restaurant at La Pulente could be converted into self-catering tourist accommodation with an attached café under new plans for the site seen by the JEP.
The new owner of the building has asked Planning for permission to change the use of the building – a former toilet block sold by the States for £100,000 in 2014 and now thought to be worth over £3.5 million – after failing to find a buyer for the site as a restaurant.
Nude Dunes, one of two restaurants operated by Island couple Lucy Morris and Jackson Lowe under the Nude Food brand, was opened in June 2023 and shut its doors barely five months later in November 2023 when the company went bankrupt with significant debts to suppliers.
According to a planning statement seen by the JEP, the site’s new owner has not been able to find a buyer or operator for the restaurant in the months since, and now wants the site to be repurposed as tourist accommodation.
“The premises have been offered for sale or for rent, and no reasonable offers have been forthcoming. It is notable that a new operator has been found for [Nude Food St Aubin] but not for Nude Dunes, [which] indicates that it is [not economically viable] as a café or restaurant,” the statement says.
Under the latest plans, the dining area of the restaurant would be converted into two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen, a bathroom and an office space. The outdoor terrace would also be part of the self-catering accommodation, which would be let during the summer months.
Meanwhile, the kitchen and terrace to the north of the building would become a café, separate to the self-catering unit, and the public toilets – which have been closed since November 2023 – would be reopened and maintained by the operator of the tourist accommodation.
“The applicant’s business model is to provide unique holiday accommodation with fantastic views across St Ouen’s Bay,” the statement says.
“The catering element of the business would focus on being a beach café where customers can sit on the terrace or take food and drink away to enjoy on the beach.”
The site has a long and chequered history: in 2007, permission was given to convert the toilet block at La Pulente into a café but the work was never carried out.
It was later sold to property developer Frank Laine, and then purchased by Nude Food in January 2023 for £1.5m. In details of the deal posted on Facebook, it was claimed that the building would attract a passing rent of £210,000 a year and was worth £3.5m.
Announcing the new restaurant in 2023, Ms Morris said the venue would be open seven days a week serving breakfast, lunch and dinner and would have a “beach-club vibe” with a decor that included lots of natural colours, rattan furniture and a Mediterranean-inspired mosaic floor.
A popular nearby kiosk, The Hideout, used to be based close to the toilets but moved further down the slipway access road when work to redevelop the building began. It was forced to close in October 2023 after a battle with the parish of St Brelade over its lease.
At the time, Constable Mike Jackson said that The Hideout was only meant to operate until the Nude Dunes restaurant was open. The owner of the café, Karl Sutton, described his dispute with the parish as a “David and Goliath battle” which he did not want to repeat.
In November 2023, Ms Morris and Mr Lowe said that they had run out of funding and that both the Nude Food outlets would be closing.
“We have been working tirelessly to secure further investment into our companies, to support our cash flow, and enable us to pay our team and importantly our long-standing suppliers,” they said.
“It is with great sadness that we have been unable to secure the investment needed from our financial partner and as a result we have been forced to make the difficult decision to cease trading with immediate effect.”
The couple expressed “our deepest apologies for the impact this may have” on businesses they had worked with, adding: “We are so very sorry that it has come to this. We have done everything in our power to avoid this situation.”
