The team behind a steakhouse which was set to move into an empty Harrogate restaurant almost six months ago, have spoken of their frustration over the delay.
Last November, Tomahawk Steakhouse revealed it was planning to move into the former Solita Food Hall.
It was set to open in April, but the unit on Parliament Street, which was also formerly Jamie’s Italian, has remained empty.
A spokesman for Tomahawk told the Stray Ferret:
“At the moment Tomahawk are tied up with legalities that have unfortunately been completely out of our control.
“We were all prepared and ready to go, but with liquidators from the previous owners comes a lot of red tape. We have had to sit on the sidelines whilst it gets thrashed out between the relevant parties.
“It is a shame because we would love to get going with everything and get open, but it’s completely out of our hands.
“So if the people of Harrogate are wondering what is going on with the venue, we are in exactly the same boat.
“We are, however, hoping this will draw to a close very soon and are waiting for information due to come our way anytime over the next few days.”
The steakhouse had initially planned to move into the empty Bistrot Pierre unit on Cheltenham Parade in January, before deciding to change its location to Solita Food Hall’s space.
Instead Samsons brasserie and bar moved into the Cheltenham Parade site in March. However it is currently shut “for essential works”, according to a spokesperson for the restaurant.
Tomahawk Steakhouse has restaurants in a number of locations, including Chester, York and Newcastle.
Read more:
- New restaurant to open at former Bistrot Pierre site in Harrogate
- Harrogate food hall to close after just six months
‘More needs to be done’ on food education, says Harrogate nutrition coach
A Harrogate personal trainer and nutrition coach says there isn’t a right or wrong answer when it comes to calories being listed on menus.
Lyndsay Wells said one of the benefits of the new regulations was that people might actually change their order to something they would enjoy more.
However, she said it would be more beneficial for people to understand their own needs and the nutritional content of what they ordered, rather than a simple calorie count.
She said:
“There are occasions where someone might assume a dish is low calorie because it’s a salad or fish dish for example. However, by the time you’ve added in oil, butter, cheese or dressings, you might find that a burger is around the same energy value.
“This is where it might help people move away from demonising certain foods and choosing something that they would enjoy more.
“This is again dependent on whether the focus of an individual is to create a calorie deficit or just be more mindful of consumption.
“The other thing to note is that lower calorie doesn’t equal more healthy.
“There are plenty of low calorie, but highly processed, carbohydrate snack foods with little benefit to our body, where avocado or nuts, for example, would be much more nutritious but also much higher in calories.”
Lyndsay’s comments follow a Stray Ferret report yesterday on a top Harrogate hotelier’s views on new rules that mean the calorie count of dishes must be published on some restaurant menus.
Under new regulations, restaurants, cafes and takeaways with more than 250 staff must print how many calories are in meals on their menus, websites, and on delivery platforms.
The new rule, which was brought in at the start of the month, is part of Government plans to tackle obesity by helping people to make healthier choices.
Mrs Wells said she could see it could be problematic in some instances, such as for people with eating disorders.
She also said there was no evidence that it will improve people’s choices when eating out.
She said:
“For this to truly work, an individual would firstly need to know their daily energy needs and be motivated to stay within these parameters, either for overall health and weight maintenance or with a deficit for fat loss.”
Even if people know their energy needs, Mrs Wells said values on menus could be inaccurate and should only be used as a guide.
Read more:
- Listing calories on menus is ‘bizarre’, says top Harrogate hotel boss
- Six outdoor workouts to try across the Harrogate district this spring and summer
She said calorie counts should only form part of the decision, with individual needs and overall nutrition also to be considered.
She added:
“I might still have something with a higher calorie value because I’m focused on eating for health and strength.
“I totally appreciate that my goals are completely individual and we are all different, this is why I feel there’s no right answer.
“But we have to make some changes to encourage restaurants to improve the way they prepare foods and reduce portion sizes, which are often far bigger than they need to be. This is often more problematic.
“We live in an increasingly obesogenic environment. I do think more needs to be done to update education on nutrition guidance and the ‘whys’ of moderation and the benefits of eating more whole foods, protein and vegetables.”
Ripon’s bounce back from the covid lockdowns continues, with two new city centre openings today.
The Claro Lounge opens in its prime location next to Ripon Town Hall.
It will be the 149th Lounge opened in the UK by café-bar-restaurant operator The Loungers Group.
Also opening today in The Arcade, is a Yorkshire Cancer Research charity shop (below) in a large unit formerly occupied by Fultons Foods.
The opening of the Claro Lounge has seen the creation of 25 new jobs and staff will be encouraged to develop a relationship with the Ripon community by supporting local fundraising activities.
In addition to the new openings, Mountain Warehouse has doubled its floorspace with a relocation from Fishergate to Market Place East, where it took over premises formerly occupied by Edinburgh Woollen Mill.
Mountain Warehouse at its new location
One of the UK’s fastest-growing restaurant operators will be opening in Ripon and bringing 25 new jobs to the city.
Loungers UK, which owns the Lounge and Cosy Club brands, is currently refurbishing a building in Market Place, next to Ripon Town Hall, and the opening of the premises will add to the Bristol-based company’s portfolio of approximately 150 sites in England and Wales.
Gemma Irwin, community manager for The Lounges, told the Stray Ferret:
“We will recruit around 25 local people and hope to quickly become part of Ripon’s community.”
With refurbishment work currently under way to transform the former NatWest bank premises, an opening date is yet to be confirmed.
The premises acquired by the Loungers Group, is in a prime location next to Ripon Town Hall
The Ripon opening is part of a growth strategy announced by the company last year, in which it said it is:
“Targeting 25 new site openings per annum over the medium term, of which approximately 20 are expected to be Lounges and approximately five are expected to be Cosy Clubs.”
Read more:
- See how a Ripon entrepreneur’s dreams are coming true
- How did diversification help a Ripon pie maker?
The company, founded in 2002, was valued at £185 million before its listing on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (AIM) which lists smaller growing businesses.
With the hospitality sector hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown in March, which saw all of its restaurants temporarily closed, Loungers secured a £15million revolving credit facility from its banks for an 18-month period, designed to assist the company during the covid 19 disruption and help it if the pandemic impacts sales into next year.
Loungers was founded by friends Dave Reid, Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop, who wanted to create a neighbourhood café-bar that they would want to go into themselves.
The trio, all of whom had previous experience of working in the restaurant and bar trade, opened their first venture in Bristol in premises formerly occupied by an opticians.
Over the past 18 years, the Loungers Group has become an all-day operator of scale in the UK and has outperformed the wider UK hospitality sector over the past three years in terms of growth.