Harrogate restaurant The Rooftop confirms closure — after just two days

The owner of Harrogate’s newest restaurant The Rooftop has said it has permanently closed — after trading for just two days.

Mason Elyas today told the Stray Ferret he had been involved in a dispute with business partners and planned to take legal action.

Mr Elyas said he had lost £20,000 on the venture but despite this he hoped to open another restaurant in Harrogate once this issue was resolved.

He said:

“Unfortunately we will not be able to reopen. I would like to thank all of the Harrogate people who joined us when we opened.

“There was a great amount of support from everyone.”

Mason Elyas

News of a Mexican tapas restaurant and late night cocktail bar generated a buzz when we reported its opening less than two weeks ago. Hundreds of comments were posted on our Facebook page.

Business was brisk on opening night on Friday, July 28 and also the following day but The Rooftop has remained shut since.

Inside the restaurant

Third restaurant to close quickly

The large upstairs premises above Sukhothai on the corner of Cheltenham Crescent and Cheltenham Parade was home to Le Bistrot Pierre for many years.

Since its demise, three restaurant have opened and closed in little more than a year.

Samsons, which offered fine dining with seasonal Yorkshire produce, welcomed its first customers in March last year.

It closed shortly afterwards in summer for what a spokesperson described as “essential works” but failed to re-open.

HG1 Grill and World Bar lasted even less time when it opened in November last year.

HG1 grill restaurant

However, The Rooftop’s two-day tenure could well be the shortest-lived restaurant in Harrogate’s history.

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New 80-seat restaurant to open in Harrogate on Friday

A new 80-seat independent restaurant with a cocktail bar and terrace will open in Harrogate on Friday.

The Stray Ferret revealed last week HG1 Grill and World Bar was to open in the building formerly occupied by Samsons and Le Bistrot Pierre on Cheltenham Crescent.

New owner Jas Gill has confirmed the venue will open in two days time.

Ms Gill, who is from a property background, has assembled a team including head chef Javier Oitana, general manager Jerome Lacheure and bar manager Joe Oliver.

Customers are able to visit for drinks or to sample the menu.

The grill will provide a wide range of international options and the bar will offer live music and DJ sets as well as cocktails.

Ms Gill said:

“We’ve assembled a team that is passionate about food and what we are trying to achieve.”

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New Harrogate restaurant offering live music to replace Samsons

A new restaurant offering live music is set to open in the Harrogate building formerly occupied by Samsons.

Samsons opened in the former home of Le Bistrot Pierre in Town Centre House on Cheltenham Crescent in March.

But it proved a short-lived venture, closing just months later.

Now signs advertising HG1 Grill and World Bar have gone up on the building.

The Stray Ferret understands the spacious restaurant will offer a seasonal menu featuring Mediterranean cuisine and seafood.

There will also be live music and a cocktail bar.

An opening date has yet to be announced but it is expected to be within days or weeks rather than months

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HG1 grill restaurant

Fears for Harrogate hospitality after series of closures

It’s been a difficult October for hospitality in Harrogate town centre with a series of bars and restaurants closing.

This week Catch, home to the former Graveley’s fish and chip restaurant, and cocktail bar 63rd + 1st fell victim to rising prices and poor customer numbers.

Earlier this month the Stray Ferret reported that Samsons (formerly Le Bistrot Pierre) was not going to re-open.

All these venues had been open for a relatively brief period — Samsons opened in March this year, 63rd and 1st opened less than a year ago and Catch re-opened last year.

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David Simister, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce, said:

“It’s very sad to see this number of businesses closing, and in the current economic climate I fear there will be more to follow.

“The rise in raw materials, energy bills and running costs – coupled with customers tightening their belts – means for many it’s simply unaffordable to continue.

“We also have to remember the staff who have lost their jobs as a result, and hope they find alternative employment soon.”

There are those, though, who are evidently optimistic they can survive these difficult trading times.

This week the Stray Ferret reported on a number of smaller independents opening and expanding, such as the Husk Beer Emporium on James Street and the Starling Bar Cafe on Oxford Street.

As the town gears up for Christmas it will be a critical time for all Harrogate’s restaurants and bars to boost their income and create a financial buffer for a tough 2023.

Harrogate’s former Graveley’s fish and chip restaurant closes

Catch Seafood, which bought the former Graveley’s fish and chip restaurant in Harrogate, has closed.

A spokesman for the company confirmed today all five Catch restaurants had ceased trading and the company had gone into administration, with the loss of 60 jobs.

It is the third major blow for Harrogate’s hospitality sector in a matter of days, with Samsons restaurant and restaurant and cocktail bar 63rd+1st also closing.

Catch bought Graveley’s in 2019 and reopened the restaurant on Cheltenham Parade in April last year after a £250,000 refurbishment.

Changing such a well known name was controversial.

Many people made a beeline for Graveley’s on trips to Harrogate, with former chat show host Michael Parkinson once describing his perfect day as watching Joe Root score a century in an Ashes Test at Headingley followed by a big plate of fish and chips at Graveley’s.

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A Catch spokeswoman said at the time the restaurant reopened.

“Graveley’s is an institution in Harrogate so we appreciate it is going to be a big thing to change the name.”

The new venue boasted a champagne and oyster bat as well as cocktails. But 18 months on it has served its last customer.

Catch also had fish and chip restaurants in Holmfirth, West Vale, Headingley and Street Lane.

The spokesman for the company said today he had been advised not to comment until the liquidation process was underway.

 

 

Harrogate town centre restaurant not expected to reopen

A restaurant which opened in central Harrogate earlier this year is understood to have closed permanently.

Samsons began welcoming customers in mid-March, offering fine dining with seasonal Yorkshire produce from the former home of Le Bistrot Pierre in Town Centre House on Cheltenham Crescent.

However, it closed in the summer, when a spokesperson said the closure was temporary for “essential works”.

Now, the Stray Ferret understands, the restaurant will not reopen.

Its website is still taking table bookings, but there have been no new posts on its social media feeds since the end of July.

The company was incorporated in March 7 this year by Thomas Shotton, Duncan Bell and Mark Morris, who was its general manager. Mr Morris resigned as a director on March 23.

On the same date, he resigned as a director of Harrogate Industries Ltd, a company he co-founded last October with Mr Shotton. Mr Bell was then appointed director.

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When the business launched, executive chef Josh Whitehead said it would offer “a taste of Harrogate”. He said, having begun his career in Harrogate, he was looking for a new challenge when he saw the Samsons role advertised and it “stuck out like a sore thumb”.

He was joined in the kitchen by his friend and former colleague Andy Castle, previously head chef at the Ox Club in Leeds.

The Stray Ferret approached Samsons for a comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Frustration over delays to new Harrogate steakhouse

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.

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Sneak Peek: New brasserie and bar will offer ‘a taste of Harrogate’

One thing Harrogate isn’t short of is restaurants.

However the team behind Samsons brasserie and bar, which opens its doors tomorrow, is confident their new venture will stand out from the crowd.

Executive chef Josh Whitehead, who is known for his work with the Harewood Food and Drink Project, is heading up a talented kitchen team. He was also a semi-finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals 2016.

The bar will serve a range of beverages including cocktails, beer and spirits.

His menu will focus on “real cookery”, using quality British produce that has been mainly sourced from within a small radius of the restaurant, which is based at the former Le Bistrot Pierre site on Cheltenham Crescent.

Mr Whitehead said:

“We are buying really good, really local produce and presenting it in a really accessible way for everyone.

“It’s British ingredients, British cooking and finding a way to replace what you would normally get from other countries. For example instead of olive oil, we will use rapeseed oil from Wharfe Valley Farms in Collingham.”

The menu will offer a taste of the local area and ingredients will include Harrogate’s iconic Stray cherry blossoms.

Dishes start from £4 for small plates, classic starters from £6 and mains from £14.

Signature dishes will include duck crumpets.

The dining area seats up to 80 people.

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Mr Whitehead said:

“We will be offering a taste of Harrogate, which you won’t be able to get anywhere else.

“It’s a really exciting time. My first ever kitchen job was in Harrogate around 10 years ago in what was Restaurant Bar and Grill on Parliament Street, which is now Piccolinos.

“I’ve always thought something like this needs to be in Harrogate. I don’t want to say it’s like a homecoming, but it’s quite cool that this is the biggest job I’ve had thus far in the same place I started.

“I was looking for next challenge and this one just stuck out like a sore thumb. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Mr Whitehead will be reunited in the kitchen with his best friend and former colleague Andy Castle, who was head chef at the Ox Club in Leeds.

The famous cherry blossoms will also feature as garnish on the extensive cocktail menu, which will feature 12 classic and 15 signature cocktails, all of which have been given Harrogate-themed names.

The name of the restaurant is also linked to the town.

Managing director of Samsons, Mark Morrison, who moved to Harrogate from London seven years ago, said:

“There was a chap called Samson Fox who brought the first street lights to the world. He was also quite philanthropic, he did a lot of work helping the poor. He built the Royal Academy of Music, which happens to be in London, not far from where I grew up. So there’s a nice link there.

“But when I was looking around for things about Samson Fox, there was one brown plaque 12 streets away on his old house at Grove Road and that’s it.

“And this is the only three-time mayor of Harrogate, a significant figure, and nothing really to celebrate him or his life.

“It’s a nice name for a restaurant.”

Samsons, which is described as “a light, airy design-led space”, seats up to 80 people in the restaurant and 20 people in the bar area. There is also additional seating on the outdoor terrace,  which is set to launch in the warmer months.

Three new restaurants and bars opening in Harrogate in next few days

Three new restaurants and bars are set to open in Harrogate town centre within the next few days.

Roland’s Bar, Samsons brasserie and The Giggling Squid restaurant are all set to add to Harrogate’s already-extensive hospitality scene.

Some locals may recognise Roland’s from its current venue in Leeds. The cocktail bar is owned by the same people, who also run the Domino Club in Leeds.

Based in the former Moss Bross shop on Parliament Street, it promises a “cool and relaxed” vibe.

Roland’s is open for bookings from tomorrow and is based on the top corner of the ginnel next door to All Bar One.

Samsons is a brasserie-style restaurant opening in the former Bistrot Pierre, above Sukhothai on Cheltenham Parade.

The kitchen team is headed up by executive chef Josh Whitehead, who is known for his work with the Harewood Food and Drink Project. He was also a semi-finalist on the TV programme MasterChef: The Professionals 2016.

The site — named after local philanthropist Samson Fox — will open on Monday.

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Giggling Squid will welcome its first customers in the unit next to Banyan on John Street on Monday.

This will be the Thai restaurant chain‘s first venture in Yorkshire.

The tapas restaurant will offer the opportunity to eat indoors, outdoors or at home through click and collect and delivery services.

Look out for sneak peeks of new venues in the coming days.