A Boroughbridge cafe has announced it will close its doors for good within the next two weeks.
Fourth Stone Café serves breakfasts and brunches on Church Lane.
The business, which has been open for 18 months, posted the news on its Facebook page this week.
It cited the cost of living crisis and rising prices as factors in its decision.
Jack Pinder, the owner, said on Facebook:
“It is with a heavy heart I am having to write this.
“Unfortunately, we will be open for only the next two weeks before closing our doors for good on Saturday, July 1.“The cost of living crisis and continued rises in cost, have caught up with us and like so many small businesses it means we can no longer continue to carry on.“This has not been an easy decision to make but sometimes you have to acknowledge when enough is enough, not just financially but also for the good of your own wellbeing!”
The post prompted numerous messages of support. One customer said:
“It’s so sad to see such a wonderful business close.”
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Ripon cafe owner retains humour despite break-in
It was business as usual this morning for one of Ripon’s most popular cafe bistros following a break-in in the early hours.
The entrance door to Oliver’s Pantry was extensively damaged by criminals when they forced their way in.
Tim Grant, who jointly owns Oliver’s Pantry with his wife Lou, told the Stray Ferret:
“Words fail me, we could have done with this like a hole in the head.
“Things are hard enough for the hospitality sector, but we’ve just had to get on with sorting things out.
“We’ve been in contact with the police and our insurers, have carried out a clean up and we are open.”
The couple managed to retain their sense of humour by putting up a sign telling people they were still open — and had cake.
The Grants have run the business on North Street for 12 years and Mr Grant added:
“Fortunately whoever did this didn’t steal anything, but they smashed the door in and caused a mess.”
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Plan for new cafe on Harrogate’s Cambridge Street
A plan has been submitted to open a new cafe on Harrogate’s Cambridge Street.
The proposal, which has been submitted by Doncaster-based Imyco Construction Ltd, would see the cafe created next to beauty and toiletries shop Bodycare in the town centre.
The allocated space is currently a staircase, which has been “mothballed”, according to planning documents.
The cafe would be situated on the ground floor and be accessed from Cambridge Street.
Further details on the cafe, including name and opening hours, have yet to be revealed.
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.
The site is currently subject to plans for 14 new apartments above the planned cafe and Bodycare.
The proposal, which was approved in June 2020, will see the first floor of the building converted into accommodation.
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A-ha’s sound man opens record shop and bar in Harrogate
A sound engineer who has worked for some of the biggest names in pop has opened a vinyl coffee house and bar in Harrogate.
Dave Swallow’s CV includes stints with Amy Winehouse, Erasure and James, and he still routinely joins Norwegian mega-band A-ha on tour. But he’s launched a new venture that brings his love of music to the town he now calls home.
AAA (pronounced triple-A) on Cold Bath Road is currently operating as a coffee house, open from 9 to 5pm, but a temporary licence over the spring bank holiday weekend will see it function as the bar it is meant to be, open till 11pm.
AAA on Cold Bath Road also has outdoor seating.
From early July, when it receives its full alcohol licence, AAA will be a coffee house and bar that also sells vinyl records and clothes from another of Dave’s ventures, clothing brand Audio Architect Apparel.
Dave, who is originally from Southend-on-Sea but has lived in Harrogate for 16 years, said:
“Last July, I was touring with A-ha, playing Rio de Janeiro and the Hollywood Bowl, and then just two days later I was back here, being handed the keys to this place.
“Ultimately, I just want to create a nice, cool place where people can come to listen to good music on a good sound system, drinking good drinks.”
Dave Swallow wants to create a cool place, with good music and drinks.
AAA currently serves hot drinks, cakes and traybakes, but as a bar it will offer wines, spirits, a range of bottled beers, and two brews on tap – a pilsner and an IPA, both made by music-inspired brewer Signature Brew.
In addition, anyone who still has any old vinyl records but no means to play them can take their discs along to AAA and Dave will play them. He said:
“Music is a language without words. It’s emotional. You can take a band from Liverpool and drop them in South America, and their sound travels. It crosses boundaries and brings people together. That’s what I’m doing here.”
Read more:
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- Criminals damage third business on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road
- Cafe-bar and record store plans submitted for Cold Bath Road shop
Business Breakfast: Ethical cafe opens second store in Knaresborough
It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 12.30pm.
Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.
Number Thirteen Coffee House & Cakery – a retro-inspired, eco-conscious coffee shop in Knaresborough, is set to open a second, larger store.
Number Thirteen opened in January 2018 when operator Sarah Ward took over a small vacant shop unit on Castlegate.
Five years on, Number Thirteen is set to open a second, larger premises on the first floor space above Donkey’s Years Antiques on Silver Street. The new space will have all the hallmarks of Number Thirteen’s signature retro styling, but will be more of a social space, with room for larger groups.
Ms Ward said:
“It’s very exciting to be opening a second shop in Knaresborough. The town has such a strong, friendly business community and our customers are so loyal and supportive. I just wanted to be able to give them all something to be proud of.
“Each shop will have its own identity but will work in harmony with each other too. We saw little point creating something that was exactly the same, just made bigger, and instead we’ve kept all of the best bits and built on them, trying out new things that we otherwise didn’t have the space to do in our Castlegate shop. ”
Number Thirteen on Silver Street will be opening on April 1 to coincide with the start of the school holidays.
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Transport chief in Harrogate tonight
Tonight’s meeting of the Harrogate Chamber of Commerce will focus on broadband and town centre connectivity.
Entitled “The Highway — super and public”, the meeting with hear from NYnet about business broadband CityFibre about domestic broadband.
David Simister, the chamber’s chief executive said:
“Obviously businesses rely on high speed broadband — if they don’t have it they will be disadvantaged from other parts of the country that do.
“We live in a world where nothing less than superfast is acceptable.”
The meeting will also hear from councillor Keane Duncan, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, on updates about the controversial Station Gateway project in Harrogate and wider highways issues in the town centre.
The meeting, at the Harrogate Convention Centre starts at 5.30pm.
Knaresborough’s Riverside Cafe owners bid farewell after 13 yearsThe owners of Knaresborough’s Riverside Cafe have sold the business after 13 years.
The independent cafe, situated under cliffs alongside the River Nidd on Waterside, is a favourite haunt for numerous tourists and cyclists, as well as local people.
Partners Phil Smith and Tim O’Hara will serve their last coffee and cake as owners tomorrow before Michael and Louise Bland, who own Vivido Bar and Restaurant on Cheltenham Crescent in Harrogate, take over.
The cafe is expected to close for a week before reopening, with the previous owners helping out for a short period.
Mr Smith said it felt like the right time to go, adding:
“We had no experience in catering when we took over but we have worked hard and learned by our mistakes to make it a successful business.
“It’s a beautiful place to work, overlooking the viaduct, and we have made lifelong friends.
“But it’s grown and grown and has become a bit of a monster.”
Mr Smith said regular customers from Wakefield, York and Lincoln were due to visit today to bid farewell and he expected tomorrow to be emotional.
But he said Mr and Mrs Bland would “breathe new life” into the business and he and Mr O’Hara would support them before taking life easier. The six staff will stay on under the new owners.
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Ms Bland, who lives in Leeds, said she and her husband had been friends with Mr Smith and Mr O’Hara for years and they “fell in love with the place” when they visited and later jokingly said they would like first refusal if the cafe ever came up for sale.
Vivido celebrated its fourth anniversary last week and Ms Bland, who lives in Leeds, said the Italian and Mediterranean venue was now running well and she and her husband were excited by the prospect of operating daytime and nighttime businesses.
She said she hoped to reopen the cafe next week but no date has yet been finalised. Ms Bland said:
New chocolate and coffee cafe to open in Harrogate next month“It’s a successful business so the plan is not to change too much. We need to have a little time to see how things work and we will only change things if we feel it can be improved.”
A new chocolate and coffee cafe is to open in Harrogate town centre next month.
The Chocolate Works, which already has cafes in Clitheroe and Skipton, will open on Station Parade.
It will be situated in the vacant unit that was intended to house the ill-fated vegan restaurant Vertigo, which went out of business a year ago before its Harrogate eatery opened.
Signs advertising the new venture on Station Parade have gone up.
Owner Guy Middleton, who opened the Clitheroe store in 2017 followed by Skipton three years later, said the Harrogate cafe will employ about 10 staff and open on March 25.
Mr Middleton, who entered the chocolate business about a decade ago after a career in marketing and communications that included a spell in California, promised the cafe would be “delicious, fresh and fun” in a “space to come and enjoy yourself”.
The Chocolate Works cafes serve predominantly Belgian chocolate dishes, including hot chocolate, as well as loose chocolate that can be taken away.
They also stock a wide range of coffees and speciality teas plus waffles, ice cream and milkshakes.
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Business Breakfast: New café opens on Harrogate’s Cardale Park
The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. Early bird tickets are available until next Friday. The event will celebrate success and business excellence across the Harrogate district. It’s a night not to be missed! There’ll be a fabulous prize draw for all attending and Richard Flinton, the incoming Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council, is guest speaker.
New café opens on Cardale Park
Serviced offices, 1 Cardale Park, has opened its own coffee shop.
Paul’s Café @ Cardale is open to both tenants of the offices and the public, Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm.
The café, which is owned and operated by Paul Ulett, has a selection of handmade sandwiches (courtesy of Thug Sandwich), salads, cakes and pastries. A variety of breakfast options will also be on offer, with a range of choice for different dietary requirements.
Paul Ulett said:
“We’re delighted to be opening at such a fantastic location. It’s a great asset to both residents and local businesses in the Harlow Hill area of Harrogate, as not only are they able to sample great quality food and drinks at reasonable prices, but it is also the perfect spot for them to come and grab a delicious lunch on the go, or enjoy a break from their working day”.
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Harrogate Homeless Project awarded major funding
Harrogate Homeless Project has been awarded a 2-year grant totalling £50,000 from the Lloyds Bank Foundation.
A payment of £25,000 each year will be used to expand and improve the services currently provided at its day centre, Springboard.
The Springboard Day Centre provides food, washing facilities and medical services. It also offers help with housing applications and access to other services.
The organisation says, “the funding will help to increase the capacity of Springboard to host more organisations, extend the opening hours and expand the food service”. The funding will also be used to further develop their therapeutic services and staff training.
The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is an independent charitable trust that partners with small and local charities who help people overcome complex social issues.
Refurbished church aims to meet needs of growing Killinghall communityA community building is set to reopen in Killinghall next weekend after a £248,000 refurbishment.
Killinghall Methodist Church has made the investment to help it meet the needs of the village’s growing community.
As well as providing a more modern space, it has reduced the building’s carbon footprint, as part of the Methodist aim to achieve net zero status.
Rev Ron Hicks from the church said:
“It’s becoming an eco-friendly church building. There’s air source heat pumps, and solar panels on the roof.
“Internally we have reconfigured the worship area, taken bits of the partitioning out and opened it up to be one big place for the community to use.”
The first chapel on the Ripon Road site was built in 1793, and its foundation stone still remains in the present building, which was built as a school in 1937. In 1973 the original chapel was demolished and the school room was refurbished, with an extension built around the same time.
The latest work has seen a new kitchen installed along with new windows, carpets, heating, insulation and a cycle rack. The building has also been redecorated.
Before and after photos inside Killinghall Methodist Church
It has been funded by Methodist Church sources, along with a grant of almost £100,000 from the FCC Communities Foundation, a not-for-profit business that awards grants through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Additional money was provided by the Benefact Trust and the Congregational and General Charitable Trust.
Rev Hicks said:
“Now, we’re into the next phase of the building’s life.
“It’s a really good congregation of all ages, from youngsters through to people in their 30s and 40s, right through to much older.
“Upgrading the facilities now is important because there are people coming in who are new to the village. We want a modern building that suits their needs.”
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The church is also set to become home to a new community cafe run by Resurrected Bites.
The food waste organisation will open its third pay-as-you-feel cafe this spring, using food that would otherwise go to landfill to deliver a menu of breakfasts, lunches, cakes and drinks.
Founder Michelle Hayes said:
“We hope it will be the perfect opportunity for people to congregate and get to know other people from Killinghall.
“We are hoping to find someone to run a great toddler group on Thursday mornings as we are particularly concerned about loneliness for stay-at-home parents or carers. The café will also be a nice venue for people working from home to have their lunch and a chat with people.”
Resurrected Bites is seeking a cafe manager for the new venue. The paid role of eight hours a week involves an hour of prep on a Wednesday and seven hours leading the team on Thursdays.
Volunteers are also being recruited to help prepare, serve and clear away in the cafe each week.
For more information, email Heather Memmott at Resurrected Bites.
An official reopening of the church will be held on Saturday, February 4, from 1pm to 3pm, when the community will have the chance to look at the new facilities.
Dean says Cathedral Quarter plan will attract more visitors to RiponThe Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, has said the creation of a Cathedral Quarter would boost the city’s economy while providing an enhanced setting for the Grade I listed building.
His comments follow the submission of a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council seeking permission for construction of a two-storey standalone annexe on the Minster Gardens site to the north of the cathedral.
If planning consent is granted, the building would include a song school, gift shop, cafe and the city centre’s first Changing Places toilet, providing improved access to the city and the cathedral for disabled people.
The area of Minster Gardens where the proposed new building would be located
To accommodate the development, 11 trees would need to be removed from Minster Gardens and the existing toilet block demolished, along with outbuildings and a wall.
The proposal also includes landscaping of the gardens and improved links to Kirkgate and the Cathedral Car Park.
With these works added to the cost of construction, the new estimate for the project is in excess of £6 million.
Dean John, said:
“Taking down the trees and building in that area will need to be seen in context of this being a major development not only for the cathedral but for the city and the region.
“The development has to serve the needs of people coming to us as worshippers, pilgrims, holidaymakers, day trippers and people who come to concerts.”
He added that the planning application is:
“The culmination of years and years of work; building relationships, looking at all the different possibilities and options.
“It has been a huge job to get to this point but what people are excited about is we have at last found a solution to the age-old problem for the cathedral and city which will enable us to create the cathedral quarter and that is a wonderful prospect.
“Ripon is the cathedral city for entrance to the Dales and the region and these plans enhance not only the cathedral but the city as well, by bringing an increase in visitor numbers.”
With regard to the removal of trees, Dean John, said:
“In mitigation of losing 11 trees we will be planting over 300 trees, some on the site and others on land which is being provided for us.”
On the issue of Minster Road, he said:
“Some people in the city want to close Minster Road while the city council definitely does not. What we are saying is we need to find a way of calming and reducing the traffic so it can become a unified area which will also be safe for pedestrians and can be opened up as a public space to be used and for people to come and go.
“There are many similar areas around the country which work perfectly successfully so while details have to be worked out we are saying there are no plans to close Minster Road.”
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