A POLISH restaurateur has battled through high water to open his new eatery in Newcastle.

Former teacher Zbigniew Orlicz Blonski had to wait until flood damage from June’s storms subsided before he could open the doors at his restaurant, Krakow, in Shakespeare Street.

The restaurant serves traditional, hearty Polish food and drink, and is Blonski’s second venture into the city’s restaurant market.

His previous restaurant, Gospoda, was located in Princess Square.

The move to the larger site has seen the business create an extra three jobs, bringing staff numbers to six.

Blonski said: “Our new site is much larger than our former one and we are now able to serve 60 covers.

“Shakespeare Street is a much more prominent location for us with a lot of people passing through the city centre. Hopefully, we can build a regular customer base from our new location.”

He worked with James McEwen, from Newcastle solicitors Gordon Brown Law Firm LLP, to arrange the terms of lease and an alcohol licence.

James said: “Zbigniew suffered a setback in the early stages of the re-launch, but it is now dried out and back up and running.

“Krakow is a unique restaurant in the North East.”