Towards the Skipton Road end of the almost mile-long stretch of King’s Road in Harrogate is a substantial cluster of largely independent shops and businesses. 

For decades this row of around 30 businesses has offered an eclectic mix of shops and services. There are hair and beauty salons alongside a carpet shop, a dog groomer and a wedding dress boutique, a cake maker and funeral director.

There’s always been the odd deli or sandwich shop too, a role currently filled by the well-established and popular Little Breads. Food shopping needs have been met over the years by a succession of independents including the renowned Ramus Seafoods and Regal Fruiterers. Graham Sanderson Interiors has been going strong for nearly 60 years.

In recent years, however, some of the biggest and most long-standing names have gone. Ramus closed its doors in early 2020, while the fruiterers relocated to Otley Road in March last year. Victoria Lane ladies clothes shop closed in January after 17 years. 

But as these mainstays have been lost, a new group of businesses rarely seen on the street before are bringing a whole new vibe to the area. 

Two years ago, within a matter of months, coffee shop Pink Door, café Mamma Amelia, and restaurant and bar Lilypad opened. And with the news last week that a pizzeria is due to launch in the former Regal Fruiterers premises, the street has begun to attract a new kind of lifestyle customer.

“There’s nowehere like us this end of town”

As Lilypad prepares for its second birthday celebrations later this month, co-owner Jan Moxham said they’d been overwhelmed by the support of the local community since they opened. She said: 

“It’s been incredible. We get a lot of people from Bilton and the other side of Skipton Road who tell us there’s nowhere like us at this end of town. We’ve now got a huge cohort of regulars from around age 25 upwards. We are very busy on Thursday evenings, and Fridays and Saturdays are rammed.” 

Jan, her husband Roger and son Tom offer South American and Asian inspired dishes, with a menu that’s completely gluten free and mainly vegan. Chef Tom makes all the dishes from scratch and runs special menus such as the ramen-based Tokyo Tuesdays and bao buns ‘baonanza’.

Tom, Jan and Roger Moxham of Lilypad.

Jan said they were pleased to see a cluster of cafés and restaurants developing: 

“It’s becoming more of a destination to come to, it will be more vibrant. We’re only five minutes’ walk from the conference centre so we need to entice people from the direction of town.”

Next door to Lilypad, Becky Keown at the long-established Regal Flowers is looking forward to the pizzeria opening next door. She said:  

“This end of King’s Road has always been busy but recently there seems to be a new, younger vibe. When Ramus shut it had an impact because they brought a lot of footfall here. Covid didn’t help either, and people are now shopping more online and watching what they spend. But places like Pink Door and Lilypad are bringing people back again.

“We take a lot of orders online now but we do have regular customers and also work with a lot of local wedding venues and funeral parlours. We have a good relationship with many of the businesses on Kings Road and recommend them to our customers.” 

The florists’ new neighbours will be Sally Hall, who grew up in Harrogate, and her Italian fiancé Stefano Dell’oso. The couple are leaving their hospitality jobs in London to open the 50-seat Stefano’s restaurant, which will feature a traditional wood-fired pizza oven, in June. Sally said: 

“We love King’s Road; we think it’s an up-and-coming area. It’s a different kind of vibe, it seems quite young. We also like the outdoor space we’ll have here.” 

“It’s close to town but you know everybody”

Mamma Amelia’s owner, Antonio Cavinato, successfully ran his previous venture, Caffé Lago di Como, in the town centre for five years, before looking for somewhere quiet and more relaxed. He said: 

“Here, it’s still close to town but it feels like you know everybody. You can chat to people, the businesses support each other, and it’s easy and free to park. We get regulars from the local community, as well as visitors and conference guests.” 

Antonio Cavinato and his team at Caffé Mama Amelia.

The former pastry chef and his team serve a selection of cakes as well as a lunchtime menu that includes pasta dishes and meatballs, all of it home made. He welcomed the growing number of food and drink businesses, saying: “Competition is good.” 

A positive impact

Dan Brady of The Harrogate Butcher said the new lifestyle businesses are attracting a new generation of customers to the street, which will have a positive impact on the other businesses as people realise they can drop by for everyday essentials as well as a coffee or a beer.

It’s only a few months since Dan opened his business in the former Ramus Seafood shop premises and he has already seen a significant month-on-month increase in customers. He is already planning to add a selection of fruit, vegetables and bread from other local independents to his offering. He said: 

“It’s been fantastic. We’ve got regulars as well as new customers coming in. There’s a really good community around here, there are nice houses and a lot of young families. We also get visitors who are staying in Air B&Bs.  

“It’s a great location. I looked at a lot of different places in Harrogate but I liked the history here as well as the good mix of shops. Customers can park up outside and all the businesses champion each other.” 

Dan Brady of The Harrogate butcher, left, and Robertas Bernotas of Delikata.

Robertas Bernotas at the Lithuanian food store, bakery and cafe Delikata agrees. Since opening two years ago, the store, which serves coffee and cakes alongside cheeses, meats, vegetables and other produce from Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Poland, has had a core of non-English regulars.

But Robert said they had recently seen an increase in English customers too.

“People like to support independents”

Neil Thomson and Natalie Inger’s jewellery and gift shop Shine has been on King’s Road for 18 years. They sell affordable design-led gifts such as bags and scarves, along with greetings cards. Their core offering is silver jewellery, with Natalie herself making some of the pieces and taking bespoke orders as well. 

Neil Thomson and Natalie Inger at Shine.

Neil said: 

“King’s Road has been its own entity for a long time, but things have changed in recent years. It’s gone from a shopping road to more of a lifestyle road. We get fewer customers who would once have popped in as part of their everyday shopping visit, but we still have our regulars and we’re getting a lot more visitors as there are so many Air B&Bs and guest houses down here.

“People definitely like to support independents, and the fact you can park here too is a bonus.”

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Harrogate BID and the Stray Ferret have joined forces to launch a new online shopping directory to support local businesses in the run-up to Christmas.

The Shop Harrogate Online site will provide customers with a one-stop-shop to buy from local retailers forced to move online by the coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

People will be able to find and buy from fashion, homeware, food and drink, and beauty retailers, as well as finding services such as accountants, lawyers and other local professionals.

Sara Ferguson, Harrogate BID acting chair, said:

“We are delighted that Harrogate BID is partnering with The Stray Ferret to power this special page to encourage people to ‘Shop Harrogate Online’.

There are so many businesses that are continuing to trade during this second lockdown, and the directory will help them promote their services. For those looking to make purchases locally, it is a single point of reference.

Remember, when you Shop Harrogate Online, you are helping support the Harrogate economy and safeguard local livelihoods and jobs.

And don’t forget you can also purchase the Harrogate Gift Card, which is accepted by more than 100 local shops, restaurants, bars and cafes. Every £1 loaded on to a card means £1 kept within the local economy.”

Businesses across the Harrogate district can list their website for free at thestrayferret.co.uk/shoplocal

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• New Harrogate lockdown shops say ‘fortune favours the brave’
• Campaign launched to support Harrogate shops online