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08
Dec
Opening date revealed for new Harrogate wine bar and shop
An upmarket wine bar and shop will open in Harrogate this weekend.
Wine merchants Ake & Humphris, which already operates sites on Leeds Road in Harrogate and in Collingham, last year announced it was set to convert the former Shuropody unit on Oxford Street into a wine bar.
The company today (December 8) confirmed the long-awaited venture will officially open on Sunday.
Tara Stagman, finance director at Ake & Humphris, told the Stray Ferret:
Some might say it’s been a long time coming since I put up those red curtains in the window with the wording “coming soon” over a year ago, but good things come to those who wait!
We’re really excited to be adding to our local offering with a new town centre location for people to shop and to enjoy our wines and whiskies by the glass, as well as local beers on tap.
There will be familiar faces in store, with Paul Auty looking after visitors to the shop area, supported by other longstanding members of the team.
We’re really pleased to say that we have a new member of the team, Aimee Binfield, managing the bar, assisted by Danni, Nichola and George over the busy festive season, supported by our loyal team of returning university students without whom we would be lost.
Ms Stagman said Mark Hinchcliffe, former owner of The Chapel on Harrogate’s Grove Road, has curated a “fabulous new-look interior” at the Oxford Street site by incorporating vintage wine paraphernalia, upcycled 1920s wardrobes and “wonderful and unusual pieces”.
“He describes his inspiration as Oscar Wilde’s wine library”, Ms Stagman added.
She said:
All being well, our first event will take place here on Saturday, December 13, in the form of a preview evening with a champagne reception and a relaxed sit-down tasting of six fabulous cheeses from the Cheeseboard, paired with six super wines from around the world, paired and presented by Paul Auty. Tickets for this event are very limited and are on sale now on our website and in store for £55 per person.
Ms Stagman told the Stray Ferret the shop area will open at 10am and the bar will open at midday. The site will close at 10pm and will operate daily for "most of December".
A proposed site plan for the Leeds Road/St George's Road expansion. Credit: Caswell Designs
Leeds Road expansion plans
Ake & Humphris opened a small in-store wine bar at its Leeds Road site in January following an “amazing response” to an outdoor pop-up bar over summer last year and at weekends.
But the company wanted to expand further and submitted plans seeking approval to convert a storage area at the rear of the site into a bar.
It came after the existing outdoor seating area on the Leeds Road side of the site proved popular, and the company wanted to offer a bigger, more permanent bar that can open all year, no matter the weather.
It proposed to serve a range of alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as cold meats, cheeses, bread and olives.
A decision is yet to be made on the plans.
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