Northern Monk is going places. One of the UK’s fastest growing breweries, it has big, bold plans.
So it’s nice to discover that York features very strongly in that vision.
“We’ve got a hit list of cities we’d love to have a presence in, and York’s been top of that list for a long time. So we’re absolutely delighted to be here,” said Russel Bisset, Northern Monk founder and MD.
“It’s a really exciting moment for us as we look to open the bar next week.”
The Northern Monk York Refectory is due to open on Friday 24 October in what was the old Forage restaurant on Little Stonegate.
A vast bar, running the length of one wall of the ground floor, is now being installed. It will have 20 craft beers on tap.
“There’s huge thirst for craft beer in the city. We already sell a lot of Northern Monk into the city of York. So we’re excited,” Russell told YorkMix.
“We feel like we’ve got a lot of our community here, and we’re excited to open the doors to them.”
Upstairs, kitchens are being prepared for a sort of in-house food hall. Run by Supamarkets, it will serve up authentic NY style pizza slices and full pies from Yonkers, Japanese-inspired snacks from Fu Express and tacos from Crudo Cantina.
For Russell this collaboration is “part of our DNA”. “We’re really good friends with the team behind all of those food concepts.
“We’re also really focused on just creating incredible beer – that’s the number one objective for us.
“And we recognise there are people that are potentially better placed to create these incredible food experiences, to go alongside the beer experiences. Together, we hope to create something really, truly unique.”
Look out later for some entertainment options too, including pub quizzes, bingo nights and live music.
They’ve waited a while to find the right venue for their York bar – and Russell is delighted with the location.
“We’ve seen a few different premises in York, but here we’re a stone’s throw from the likes of Betty’s, which is iconic nationally and internationally.
“We’re also a stone’s throw from the likes the House of Trembling Madness – people we’re really good friends with and another great beer destination. It’s great to be alongside them and create a bit of a trail through the city of these incredible beer destinations.”
Northern Monk has invested more than £300K in the York venture, which will create ten jobs.
Russell said: “For us, it’s a big investment. We’re an independent craft brewery. So it’s a bit of a leap of faith, but one we’re really excited to make.”
This is the next step in Leeds-based Northern Monk’s ambition to be the biggest independent craft brewer in in Europe within ten years. “We’re already the fourth or fifth biggest, depending on which measure you take,” says Russ.
A lot of hospitality businesses are struggling. How come his company is bucking the trend.
“First and foremost, the people that power the business here. We have incredible people across the whole business.”
And this goes alongside the “mission to really delight people with the beers that we create”.
Russell and his team are clearly thrilled to be bringing their “fresh from the North” approach to York – and the city is already responding.
“The initial signs and the response we’ve had from the community here has been superb. We couldn’t hope for more,” Russell said.
“We’re really excited to fly the flag for what we do and for what York does, and embrace the local community as part of the venue as well.”
