New restaurant’s tribute to Haymarket heritage
A new restaurant and delicatessen is being opened in one of Newcastle’s most prominent buildings, named in tribute to a historic pub in the area which was closed more than 30 years ago.
The Haymarket, which will offer Mediterranean and other global fusion cuisine, is set to open in January with the creation of around 15 jobs.
The restaurant – part of the Grade II listed Bruce Building, currently undergoing a £5m refurbishment – takes its title from the popular Haymarket pub, also on Percy Street, which opened as a pub in 1833 but was demolished in 1987.
The new venue will have the same name and font and a similar logo to its namesake, as well as references in the interior design.
And The Haymarket, operated by Newcastle-based Michigan Foods, is set to be the first in a chain of restaurants around the UK, with its owners planning to open more venues in future years.
Award-winning bar designer Simon McIlwraith, from Collective Design, is overseeing the interior design of the restaurant, in a project which is seeing “significant” investment from its owners.
Newcastle law firm Sintons is handling the licensing work.
James Walton, director of Michigan Foods and head chef at The Haymarket, said the venue would also have a strong CSR commitment, donating food to local foodbanks and installing a commercial water filtration system and wine in PET kegs to reduce landfill.
James – who has worked at some of the leading venues in London’s Soho, including The Social Eating House, Dehesa and Nopi, with top-rated chefs like Jason Atherton, Ben Tish, Rowleigh Leigh and Yotam Ottolenghi – said: “I have wanted to open my own restaurant since I first started working in the food industry. I trained at the North West Culinary Academy of Vancouver in Canada, then have been in London for several years learning from head chefs at the top of their game, so now I can bring my own ideas to the fore. I am very passionate about food and this is my dream. The longer-term goal is to open a series of restaurants elsewhere in the country, but we will start with The Haymarket.
“The Bruce Building is a fantastic venue in an area of Newcastle with so much history behind it. The Haymarket was, for over 150 years, such a popular pub that we want to create a legacy to that by reviving the name. There will also be references to it in the interior design of the restaurant. It is a very exciting time, and we look forward to showing what we have created early next year.”
Sarah Smith, leading licensing specialist and partner at Sintons, is overseeing the licensing work for The Haymarket.
She said: “James and Michigan Foods are bringing something new to this area of the city centre, which does not currently have a lot of restaurant provision. It is another exciting and high-quality venue to add to Newcastle’s continually developing leisure economy. The business has big plans for The Haymarket and other future developments, and we are very pleased to be able to support them with their first opening.”
