The Yeo family came to Felixstowe in 1979 when they purchased the lease to the Ordnance Hotel, their first foray into catering. The establishment was run by Mary and Denys Yeo with the help of their sons James and Tim. About 5 years later Mary and Denys emigrated to Spain and James and Tim remained to run the business and the Yeo Partnership was formed.
By 1988 the Ordnance was trading at full capacity and the decision was taken to sell up and move on. The Yeo Partnership took on the tenancy at Adnam's Black Tiles in Martlesham and Greene King's The Pickerel in Ixworth and - with an old school friend - purchased the freehold of the Cretingham Bell. Subsequently The Cretingham Bell become a casualty of the property crash and had to be sold on and James chose to leave the business, so Tim gave up the tenancy at The Pickerel deciding to concentrate on Black Tiles. The Yeo Partnership was dissolved and Yeo Group was created. Black Tiles flourished and a new restaurant and garden room were added to the property.
In 2000 Tim and Julie Yeo purchased Cordy's Alexandra Restaurant (known locally as the Alex) on Felixstowe seafront. After running the business for a year, the building was closed for a major refurbishment and reopened in it's current reincarnation at Easter 2001.
In 2006, Tim and Julie became aware of the opportunity to buy the Bencotto Restaurant and the adjacent cafe in Hamilton Road, Felixstowe. Tim had always wanted to run a pizza/pasta restaurant so the business was bought, closed for a major restoration/refurbishment project and reopened in August 2008 as Cafe Bencotto.
Yeo Group's philosophy has always been to provide quality food and service in an informal, friendly manner making people of all ages feel welcome and comfortable, whatever the occasion. We believe our continued success is based on sticking to those values and providing a good working environment based on teamwork.