The new Starbucks site in Harrogate looks ready to open its doors and begin brewing, but its planned opening date is still unknown.
The coffee shop is set to open in the former Leon site on Wetherby Road. The unit was previously a Mediterranean fast-food restaurant and has been transformed into a drive-through coffee shop.
The Stray Ferret first reported that the site would become a Starbucks last August, when North Yorkshire Council granted planning permission to change the branding on the unit.
Permission was given for a total of 20 signs to be installed. Just over half of which would be illuminated, including totem signs, menus and directional signs around the drive-through.
Starbucks advertised for new staff in December and in January the new signage was installed. The only Starbucks in Harrogate is currently on Cambridge Street in the town centre.
Today, the company told the Stray Ferret:
“We look forward to bringing the Starbucks experience to customers in Harrogate in the near future and will be in touch once we have more specific plans to share.”
The move comes as Leon, which opened at the site last June, closed its doors on April 2 with the loss of around 20 jobs.
It was operated by Blackburn-based EG Group, which also runs Starbucks franchises as well as brands including KFC and Greggs.
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Ripon coffee shop Messy Buns closes
Messy Buns, on Duck Hill in Ripon, closed its doors on Tuesday.
The café, which opened in 2017, served cakes, coffee and sweet treats.
Owner Lydia Peters posted a tearful video on Facebook to announce the news yesterday.
She said her electricity bill tripled at the start of 2023 and, with the increasing cost of food and ingredients, the business was no longer viable to run.
“I can’t just keep getting more and more into debt because that’s where I am now.
“The reality is they [supplier] are probably going to cut my electricity off any day now.”
Ms Peters told the Stray Ferret “less and less people” came into the café every week, but hopes her video would make people realise “how hard it is to run a business”.
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However, she urged people to continue supporting other Ripon businesses:
“I feel lucky to have lasted as long as we have because you see incredible businesses close.
“Please keep supporting business owners in Ripon, because otherwise they’ll go.”
Ms Peters will continue to offer cake-making and catering services despite the closing the café. She told the Stray Ferret:
Number Thirteen cafe in Knaresborough to close next month“I feel quite overwhelmed but I just want to say thank you to everyone that has supported my for the last seven years.”
The owner of retro coffee shop Number Thirteen has announced the closure of its Silver Street premises in Knaresborough.
The coffee shop originally opened on Castlegate in the town in 2018.
It expanded into a second location above Donkey’s Years Antiques on Silver Street about six months ago.
But owner Sarah Ward has announced this second location will close for good at the end of September.
In a Facebook post, Ms Wood said it was “the hardest thing I have ever had to do”.
She said:
“There is no denying that the hospitality industry has been suffering these past few years, and I can’t pretend that we haven’t been affected.
“With costs in energy prices still increasing, costs of ingredients and stock increasing, as well as large staff costs and overheads like rent and VAT, it just isn’t financially viable to remain open.”
Odds ‘stacked against small hospitality businesses’
Ms Ward said the odds were stacked against small hospitality businesses not only because of the cost of wages but also the cost of pensions, holiday and sick pay alongside rising utility and ingredient prices.
She added:
“The team we put together have made the space their own, while also becoming part of what makes Number Thirteen so special. I’m so proud of all of them, and I’m so upset that it has had to come to this.”
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Ms Ward, who will now focus on the Castlegate shop, said she was grateful for the support she has received:
“I have always felt so supported and connected to the people of Knaresborough, and the comments I have received from my own staff, customers and fellow business owners following the announcement have meant so much to me.
“It has been the toughest decision to make, but knowing that we will continue to be a part of Knaresborough’s business community with our Castlegate shop, lightens the load a little.”
Muffin Break cafe coming to Harrogate?
An empty shopping unit in Harrogate town centre looks set to host a Muffin Break cafe.
Notices have appeared in the window of the former Hotter shoe shop on Cambridge Street for a pavement licence application.
The notice says the applicant is FoodCo UK Franchising Ltd, known as Muffin Break bakery cafe.
Muffin Break is a franchise business of FoodCo that originated in Canada and now has about 60 UK outlets. The closest one is in Bradford.
The former Hotter shoe shop
They typically sell muffins, cakes and coffee and also provide breakfasts and light lunches.
The licence application is dated June 9 and says the deadline for comments is June 13 — four days later.
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The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council, which determines licence applications, for further details.
The council displays pavement licence applications on its website here. But a spokeswoman said the Muffin Break application was no longer available because the objection expiry date had passed. She added the licence had been granted.
We tried to contact FoodCo UK Franchising but have not had a reply.
Brew Bar owner opens new Harrogate coffee shop
The owner of Brew Bar has opened a new coffee shop in the centre of Harrogate.
Simon Somerville-Frost, who has operated his original venture on St Winifred’s Avenue since 2018, opened the new coffee shop on Royal Parade this week under the name &… Harrogate.
&… Harrogate provides lunch and brunch as well as a wide range of coffees, pastries and bakes. It plans to transition to also operate as an evening bar in the weeks ahead.
It took about nine weeks to transform the former Gron building, which closed last year.
Mr Somerville-Frost said &… Harrogate was designed to look and feel completely different to Brew Bar, which has established a reputation as a community coffee shop in the saints area of Harrogate.
He said:
“We just decided to something totally different. It’s a completely different look from Brew Bar and a really nice space.
“It’s a natural evolution from Brew Bar. I didn’t want the space to look too ‘coffee shop’.We’ve gone for a quite darker aesthetic so we can transition easily into an evening bar.
“People feel comfortable in both environments and we are excited to get going.”
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