A Knaresborough pub is preparing to welcome back customers after it closed for eight months to do a major £160,000 refurbishment.

The Worlds End Pub closed for the work in December 2020. After a few bumps in the road, the pub will open to customers for the first time in months today.

When the customers return they will find that the venue has effectively doubled its seating offering.

Some of the most noticeable changes are outside. The pub has created a completely new outdoor seating area where the old conservatory and toilets used to be.

Indoors there is also plenty to see. The bar has been extended with a new overhang from the set of the Simon Pegg and Nick Frost film which is also called The Worlds End.

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The main seating area indoors has also had a big refresh. It is now much bigger with a stone floor, big traditional beams and bi-fold doors which lead outside.

Simon Colgan told the Stray Ferret ahead of the opening:

“Since we moved here in 2006 I knew it could be so much bigger, so much brighter and so much more Knaresborough.

“It was important that we didn’t just give it a lick of paint. We needed to erase all the bad things and create a lot more space with an extra 120 seats.

“I am absolutely over the moon. We could only dream at the beginning but people have come in and added their own ideas.

“We didn’t want to polish all of the character out of it. The pub is still quirky and olde worlde but hoepfully on a much better level now.”

With an extra 120 seats at the pub, it means that the pub has employed 30 new staff.

More pictures from The Worlds End:

The overhang from the set of the film The Worlds End.

The new seating area inside.

The new seating area outside.

The Worlds End has quite a view over the River Nidd.

An Italian restaurant and cocktail bar is reopening in Harrogate after spending £750,000 on a major refurbishment during the third national lockdown.

Lucia Harrogate, based at 3 Ripon Road, will throw open its doors to guests again on Tuesday May 18 with a bright and refreshed look. So we went for a sneak peek.

The big investment, which comes after a difficult year for the hospitality industry, has also created 21 jobs.

Lucia Harrogate’s middle floor, on street level, is bright and airy

It already seems to be paying off. Tables in the restaurant and bar are fully reserved for the next three weeks and if people keep booking, there could be scope to create even more roles.

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Lucia, which has two more restaurants in Beverley and York, has been in Harrogate since 2014.

Its restaurant in the town is set over three floors. It now has a classic Italian, 1920s look, with a modern floral twist.

There is an almost prohibition-era feel to the basement, which is kitted out in dark and rich reds and ocean-inspired decorations.

The middle floor remains as the main restaurant space and bar. It also leads into the conservatory, which has an eye-catching floral display on the ceiling.

While the top floor is where you can find even more seating to grab food and drinks. The main toilets are also on the top floor.

Soothing blues enhance the top floor’s more relaxed atmosphere

Mike Turner, general manager at Lucia Wine Bar and Grill Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are looking forward to opening our doors and showcasing this beautiful restaurant. It’s had a good overhaul and we have created extra jobs.

“People cannot wait to head out, so that is great. We are fully booked for the next three weeks and people are already getting in touch about the fourth week.”

Rich red decor gives the basement an almost-prohibition-era feel

Chelsea Talbot, the restaurant’s guest experience manager, also said:

“The money for the refurbishment is Lucia money, it comes from the success and confidence in what we can offer.

“I spoke to a taxi driver about it who thought it was daft to spend so much money, but it’s not. It’s amazing.

“We know that this is what Harrogate wants. We are confident in hospitality. People can dine and drink with us and spend a full evening here.”

A statement floral ceiling dominates the conservatory

The basement’s bar is ready for staff to serve drinks

A Harrogate restaurant will be celebrating both its reopening and Yorkshire Day with a make-shift beach this Saturday.

To mark its namesake’s day on August 1, as well as the re-launch of its Scran restaurant, The Yorkshire Hotel has created a beach at the front of the building and is offering a free glass of prosecco for those ordering food.

Its sister property, the White Hart Hotel and Fat Badger pub, installed an outdoor beach earlier this month to celebrate hospitality venues being allowed to reopen. Simon Cotton, managing director of HRH Group, said:

“Since we opened two years ago, Scran has been at the heart of Harrogate’s dining and bar scene, but with our new fresh, contemporary look, we are excited to bring a new concept to our loyal and new customers.”

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Dean Sowden and Dario Silviera pictured outside the new restaurant.

The restaurant’s food will be in the hands of head chef Dean Sowden of the former Deano’s, with Harrogate’s barman of the year, Dario Silviera, managing the bar.

Simon added:

“Dean’s food has such a good local reputation that we are delighted he is heading up the kitchen of Scran, and with head barman, Dario at the cocktail helm we have the dream team!”

Screens have been placed around the bar and more space has been created between tables to allow for social distancing. It is recommended that customers pre book.

At the age of 15, Rick Jones was washing pots in Valentino’s and 22 years later he is its owner and looking forward to re-opening the newly-refurbished Italian restaurant in the heart of Ripon.

Rick (pictured) who was born and bred in the city, made a rapid rise from ‘washer up’ to chef, having studied at Harrogate College following his secondary education at Boroughbridge High School.

He has made his mark in the hospitality business at the Water Rat pub and restaurant, on the bank of the River Skell, overlooking Alma Weir and later this year, will be double-handed, when Valentino’s re-opens its doors following a £500,000 restoration that has seen the addition of five en suite rooms.

Valentino’s, located on the corner of Westgate and Blossomgate, was where Rick learnt the Roman style of Italian cooking and cuisine under brothers Fermino and Mario di Silvestro, who opened in Ripon in 1986 after selling the well-known No. 6 Restaurant in Harrogate.

He told The Stray Ferret:

“Fermino and Mario treated me like family and taught me so much. They were perfectionists and always required the very highest standards.”

Inspired by what he had learnt at Valentino’s, Rick took over the Water Rat in February 2007, but the premises were hit by flooding in June of that year.

The coronavirus crisis, has disrupted the latest stage in his hospitality career – as the original plan was to re-open the new-look Valentino’s with its hotel facilities on 30th April and now August is the target date.

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However, in spite of natural disaster and pandemic – with their financial consequences – Rick has remained positive, saying:

“It may appear dark at times, but I know that the sun will always shine again.”

Many of the Water Rat regulars, who he looks on as an extension of his own family, have been using the weekend takeaway pizza, pasta and dessert delivery and collection service that gives them a taste of the Valentino’s menu.

As well as bringing in welcome revenue while the pub remains closed, Rick pointed out that it has helped him and his team to keep in contact with each other and customers, ready for the day when both of his establishments are open again.