This week, we spoke to Lee Bellwood, owner of Major Tom’s Social in Harrogate.
Tell us in fewer than 30 words what your firm does.
We make fresh pizza and source some of the best beer you can get in the UK and abroad. We do cocktails as well, and in the next couple of weeks we’ll be starting to do lunches and brunches.
What does it take to be successful in business?
You need a good team behind you, consistency, and a USP (unique selling point). Ours is that we’re a ‘youth club for grown-ups’. We wanted to create somewhere to go where we felt comfortable, and where you could bring your kids. That’s the ‘social’ side of Major Tom’s Social.
What drives you to do what you do every day?
Basically, I just want to be in a business where I can enjoy work and not have to answer to anyone else. I like food and I like drink, so this is something I really love doing.
What has been the toughest issue your company has had to deal with over the last 12 months?
My business partner, Toby Smith, left the business to do something else, so I’ve taken it over from him. Before, I was more hands-on, but now I’m a lot more involved with payroll and VAT returns.
I’ve just opened a new bar in Otley, the Curious Hop Bière Café. It’s a bit tricky at times – it’s going well, but I just have to balance my time between the two.
Which other local firms do you most admire, and why?
I admire any independent business that can keep its head above water after covid. It was such a difficult time.
Baltzersen’s brought out its bakery just as covid was hitting and did very well out of that.
Stuzzi have done well with their gins, and opening a new site in Leeds.
Paradise Tap & Taco is doing very well too – owners Josh and Ellie were both my old managers for about five years.
Lee Bellwood, owner of Major Tom’s Social in Harrogate.
Who are the most inspiring local leaders?
I don’t really admire any local leaders, to be honest. I struggle to answer that question.
Anyone, locally or further afield, who works to combat racism and climate change, I take my hat off to.
What could be done locally to boost business?
Any time there’s a big event going on, I find it difficult to find out about it. I normally find out at the last minute. For example, if there’s a craft fair in the Valley Gardens, I may only find out about it the day before, but businesses like mine need plenty of notice about these things.
There needs to be a really good social media group – on Facebook or Instagram – to share information about these events so we can plan ahead.
Best and worst things about running a business from Harrogate?
That’s quite hard! The people we get in here are really nice and friendly – our customer base is great. We also get a lot of visitors to the town, which helps us, and it’s also great to work above Steve [Elvidge] in Space [the vintage and retro shop on The Ginnel].
The sense of community between all the independents in Harrogate is really nice: Starling, Paradise, Cold Bath Brewing Co, and Thug Sandwich Company. If I run out of pizza boxes, I can always borrow a load from one of the others, and we all have our staff do’s in each other’s places.
The worst? The parking fees. Also, the amount of licences the council gives out to premises nearby. Since we’ve been here, there have been eight or nine places given alcohol licences within 100 yards of here.
What are your business plans for the future?
We hope to introduce slightly longer opening hours over the weekends, with brunches and lunches, and we want to use the space as more of an events centre. We already have pop-up painting on Sundays, but I’d like to see more exhibitions and talks as well, giving it a real community feel. I want it to be open to everyone too, so it’ll be quite inclusive.
What do you like to do in your time off?
I love hiking, paddleboarding, travelling, hanging out with my family – and not eating pizza!
Recently I went paddleboarding on Coniston and that evening we saw the Northern Lights. It was almost like a religious experience: the best day ever!
Best place to eat and drink locally?
Obviously here. Apart from us, though, Paradise is nice, Stuzzi is good, and Baltzersen’s is good for coffee and cakes.
But my favourite is the Wild Plum Café on Hookstone Road. I go there with my mum and mother-in-law. The food is always interesting, with lots of foraged ingredients, and it’s all tasty and inventive.
This is the latest in a regular series of weekly Business Q&A features. If you’d like to suggest someone in business in the Harrogate district for this feature, drop us a line at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
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Vital role of district’s village pubs revived
Queen’s Head regular Mike Smith has waited a long 105 days since the pandemic denied him his favourite pulled pint of draught bitter.
Mr Smith, who lives across the road from the Kirkby Malzeard pub that he and his wife Sally consider an essential part of local life, told The Stray Ferret:
“I’ve been looking forward to this day, having had my last pint of draught beer on the evening that the pub had to close down because of the coronavirus crisis.”
He said that he has had cans of beer at home, but drinks in isolation don’t come with the social interaction, friendly banter and ambience experienced in a pub bar.
Mr Smith pointed out:
“For us, the pub is a vital part of village life and if there wasn’t one here, my wife and I would move elsewhere.”
His words will come as reassurance to landlady Sue Maguire, her husband Paul (aka Rocky) and daughters Zanne and Lucie, who took over the Queen’s Head in April 2017 and have been running the only pub in the village ever since.
Having missed out on the extra trade that would have come with Mother’s Day, Easter, VE Day, the late May Bank holiday, the Tour De Yorkshire and Father’s Day, the family hopes that a staycation summer with people coming to nearby holiday homes and caravan sites, will bring in the business that they need to keep their heads above water.
Sue said:
“I cried my eyes out the evening that we were told we had to temporarily close because of coronavirus. We had only just taken a delivery and had a cellar full of casque beer and lager we thought we might never be able to sell.”
Being enterprising however, they were able to draw the drink off into bottles and sell it in conjunction with the takeaway food service the family set up to help them survive through the lockdown period.
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Zanne, said:
“To sell the bottled beers, we put a ‘your pub needs you’ shout out on FaceBook and fortunately that worked and helped us with sales,”
Social media will continue to play a role in raising awareness of the village pub and the takeaway service, with the option of home deliveries, will continue, enabling villagers who remain in self-isolation, to have a pub meal.
Sue added:
“We are doing all we can, but at the end of the day, we need people to come through the door to put money in our till and both regulars and new customers can be sure of a warm welcome.”