A new cafe in Harrogate is set to have family at its heart – in more ways than one.
Brood Coffee House will open next month at the bottom of Commercial Street, in a unit previously occupied by Foxy Vintage and Interiors.
It is being converted by Hannah and Frank Pinder to offer space for children to play and enjoy classes, while parents can also enjoy a coffee or light lunch.
Hannah told the Stray Ferret:
“My husband’s passion is coffee. I’m more on the baby development side.
“I run multi-sensory and baby development classes all over the place. This gives me a bit more of a base.
“I’ll be doing a couple of days here, and then renting the space out to other class providers during the week.”
The ground floor coffee shop will be open from 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.
As well as café seating, it has toys for youngsters to play with – all selected by Hannah using her expertise.
Dark Woods will be supplying the coffee, pastries will be provided by Manna Bakery, and Hannah is currently speaking to cake suppliers to fill the counter with sweet treats.
Sandwiches will be made in-house by her mum, who has been part of the family effort to get the business ready to open.
Hannah’s dad – an artist and designer who runs classes for students at Henshaws in Knaresborough – came up with the name and branding, and has been hard at work on the DIY with Frank.
He has also designed some colouring sheets for young visitors to use at the tables.
Since setting up the cafe’s website and Instagram account, Hannah said she has been “inundated” with interest from people hoping to use the newly-converted basement to run classes and activities.
If they all sign up, she’s hoping to offer everything from baby yoga and drama classes to pre- and post-natal sessions and a breastfeeding café.
As a class leader herself, Hannah said she has experienced how hard it can be to find a high-quality venue.
“Running my classes in Leeds, I was done with the cold, horrible church halls and mums having to use nasty toilets with nowhere to change their babies.
“A couple of things started popping up that were really nice spaces, but there was nothing in Harrogate like that.
“I’m from a group of six girlfriends with children of similar age and we really struggled with where to go. You can meet at the Valley Gardens for an hour, but where can you go after that’s child-friendly and also a nice place?
“There’s such a lovely mum culture of people wanting to meet friends with children and hang out and do thing for the kids, but also for them.”
While the space will be used every week during term time for regular classes, Hannah is also hoping to run special events during the school holidays.
Her mum is already signed up to run storytime sessions, and there will be crafts and other activities on offer.
The studio is also going to be available for private bookings, mostly on Sundays, to host birthday parties, baby showers, christening celebrations and more.
Hannah and Frank will be test-running the space as a party venue for their own son, Reg, who turns two this month – and has also been in the shop daily checking out the toys in time for the planned launch events on Saturday, September 2.
Read more:
Harrogate district MPs silent over Prime Minister party apology
Two of the Harrogate district’s Conservative MPs have so far remained silent after Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised for a party at 10 Downing Street at the height of the first lockdown.
Before Prime Minister’s Question Time yesterday, Mr Johnson issued a public apology after coming under fire for a “bring your own booze” event during lockdown in May 2020.
The reports sparked backlash from the public as many had to abide by restrictions at the same time, including not being at the bedside of loved ones when they died and missing funerals.
Mr Johnson confirmed he was at the event and said he understood the “rage” people felt. However, he added that he believed it was a “work event” and had not seen the invitation from his principle private secretary, Martin Reynolds.
Labour leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, called for the Prime Minister to resign yesterday and alleged that he had misled parliament over the lockdown parties.
Read more:
- Andrew Jones MP tells constituent that clarity is needed on No 10 party
- Harrogate man forced to miss funerals hits out at Downing Street parties
So far, Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP and Julian Smith, Ripon and Skipton MP, have yet to give their views on the issue.
Following the apology, Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty, which includes rural part of Harrogate, retweeted a tweet from Nadine Dorries, culture secretary, which backed the Prime Minister and said he was “right to personally apologise”.
Mr Adams is also minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office.
https://twitter.com/nadams/status/1481342527684980740
The Stray Ferret has asked Mr Jones and Mr Smith whether they believe Mr Johnson should resign, but had yet to receive a response by the time of publication.
During an emergency debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Jones asked paymaster general Michael Ellis for a specific date when an inquiry into the lockdown parties will be published. He was told that it would be a “swift” investigation.
Meanwhile, Matt Walker, vice-chair of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats, said he has written to Mr Jones urging him to join calls for the Prime Minister to resign.
Mr Walker said:
“Yesterday we heard an evasive apology from the Prime Minister for hosting a garden party at the height of lockdown.
“This is just one of many recent allegations made about government representatives and officials breaking the rules during the pandemic, but none so clear cut as the occasion on May 20, 2020.”
A Harrogate man who could only watch the funerals of his friends online has hit out at Prime Minister Boris Johnson over reports he attended a party around the same time.
Patrick Milne could not attend the funeral of a friend’s child who died with cancer at a young age or a colleague who died from an accident at home during the initial lockdown in 2020.
The UK was under strict rules at the time. People could only meet in pairs outdoors and had to stay two metres apart.
Around that time, according to a report from ITV News, the PM’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds sent out an invitation for drinks in the Number 10 garden to more than a hundred employees.
The PM Boris Johnson allegedly attended that party along with his wife Carrie Johnson.
There has been considerable coverage of the issue since the Daily Mirror claimed on November 30 that the PM and his staff broke coronavirus rules by attending parties at Number 10 in the run-up to Christmas in 2020.
Read more:
- Andrew Jones MP tells constituent that clarity is needed on No 10 party
- Ballot could decide whether to set up Harrogate town council
Mr Milne told the Stray Ferret:
“The numbers of people who could attend funerals were severely limited so only close family could attend. They also had to be completed in around 15 minutes.
“So it was just too much to see more evidence of these parties at Downing Street. It is even more difficult to listen to the tsunami of lies from Boris Johnson and the cabinet.
“People are angry because it is clear there was one rule for them and no rules for those in power. It’s painful to see.”
He also sent his concerns to Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones and urged him to speak out on the matter. Mr Jones has not yet responded to Mr Milne or a request for comment by the Stray Ferret.
Mr Jones said in early December that clarity was needed and called for the official report to be published as soon as possible.
Update: During an emergency debate in Parliament today, Mr Jones asked paymaster general Michael Ellis for a specific date as to when the report will be published. He was only told that it would be a “swift” investigation.