From jazz evenings in the seventies to celeb dinners in the nineties, La Belle Epoque in affluent Cheshire has always been a hotspot for the rich and famous. 

But after 53 years of hosting the likes of Bryan Robson, Martin Edwards and the Beckhams the venue has been put on the market for £1.25million. 

The venue was founded in 1973 by Malcolm Mooney who was killed by a drunk driver just weeks after opening night. 

His twin brother Keith took over the restaurant with his family and throughout the decade footballers flocked to it for summer jazz evenings to watch Georgie Fame and George Melly. 

In the 1980s the family business rebranded to La Belle Epoque Brasserie – an attempt to make the Knutsford venue more casual and less ‘la-de-dah.’

Bryan Robson downed pints of milk at the table as he dined with Martin Edwards and Ron Atkinson to celebrate signing for Manchester United.

A decade later David and Victoria Beckham became regular faces at the restaurant, sometimes bringing their son Brooklyn with them in the early noughties.

However, the operators La Belle Epoque Limited began to fall behind with their rent and became involved in a dispute with the council who owned the freehold. 

By 2017 the company owed the Knutsford Town Council around £50,000 in unpaid rent and two years later it owed £774,000 to creditors.

Eventually, town hall bosses cleared the debt and the council commissioned property giants Bruntwood to carry out a feasibility study on the future of the venue. 

After multiple scenarios were proposed the council ended up choosing to sell the freehold. 

The iconic venue featured in the Michelin Guide and Good Food Guide for more than 40 years and Keith, who died in 2016 aged 77, summed up his career with the line ‘Running a restaurant is your life.’

Keith’s son David spent decades as a chef at the restaurant before setting up the Knutsford Sandwich Company. 

He told the Daily Mail: ‘The drunk driver who killed Malcolm also killed part of my dad that day. My dad threw himself into the business when he was still grieving for his twin brother.

‘I grew up surrounded by famous faces, and we often had half the Manchester United first team in the restaurant.

‘Bryan Robson dined in the restaurant the night he signed for Manchester United. He drank pints of milk all evening, which was a little unusual.

‘The Beckhams were always so lovely – if only all our customers had been as nice. I remember we used to offer the Beckhams a hotel room upstairs to help them avoid the Paparazzi who were waiting outside for pics of baby Brooklyn.

‘It was my idea to make the transition to Brasserie dining in the 80s – I just thought that was the way to go. However we were always committed to delivering high quality French food.

‘The restaurant became associated with a certain style, from the art on the walls to the crockery.

‘We used to lose dozens of dessert plates a week to diners who slipped them away. It was most annoying.’

Mayor of Knutsford Councillor Bryan Hartley said: ‘It is time for this Knutsford landmark to find a new owner who can breathe fresh life into what must be the iconic building of our Town Centre. This is the first time it has ever been put on the market, and we look forward to finding the best custodian for its future.’