Take Five Restaurant in the Washington Mall is up for sale after the majority stakeholder has decided to leave the Island after 28 years.

Brian Toms, who bought the restaurant seven years ago with manager and partner Mark Stephenson, is leaving the Island to return to his native Wales.

"We would like to thank all of our regular customers and all the people who have made it what it is," said Mr. Toms.

The restaurant, which is open only from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., is on the first floor of the Washington Mall and is well known for its reasonably priced meals for about $12.

Mr. Toms, who first worked as a teacher when he arrived in Bermuda and then worked at Arthur Andersen and then Fidelity Investment, met his partner Mr. Stephenson through Teachers Rugby Club, where both men played the sport.

"We had always talked about going into business together," said Mr. Stephenson. "We knew it could not be a bar as we would never make a profit," he joked. "So we settled on this business."

Mr. Stephenson has been managing the restaurant, which has six full-time staff, and the pair hope to sell it as a going concern.

"It is a profitable restaurant," said Mr. Stephenson. But he added that following the September 11 attacks, the restaurant's takings dropped by about 20 percent.

"We are not sure why, maybe more people were bringing their own lunch - I know some of our regulars who work in stores had their hours cut so were not around so much.

"But whatever it was, it was noticeable. And then, just when we were getting used to that, about six months later, the customers just started coming back, and it has been back up ever since."

Mr. Toms said the restaurant had 99 percent local clientele and had never had to advertise the business, relying on word of mouth to get business.

The restaurant was already called Take Five when they bought it, but neither knows how or why the restaurant got its name. It was previously called the Earl of Sandwiches.

"Mark is the real hands on man - I look after the finances," said Mr. Toms, who claims he was a disaster in the kitchen and behind the counter and is no longer allowed to serve customers.

"We bought the restaurant with the intention of selling it in five years. Five years was in August, 2001, and we had several interested parties - but then September 11 came along and that was that.

"After seven years we think it is time to sell up. We have had several interested people and we are working on deals as we speak."

Mr. Toms is retiring and Mr. Stephenson said he was working on projects - but said he could not go into details at the moment.

"I am not sure yet what I am going to do," said Mr. Stephenson.

"We will both miss the place," said Mr. Toms. "We will miss seeing the people. We have some regulars who come in two or three times a day and we have a gentlemen's meeting every morning in here about 9 a.m. We will miss them all."

Mr. Stephenson said: "We have friendly staff, good food and offer value for money. It is a good mix and we will miss it when we sell it."