A former Newcastle tea house is set to reopen after being taken over by the Northumberland Restaurant Company.
The site at Eldon Place, part of Newcastle University, is now under the ownership of the company, one of a family of businesses which includes the Northumberland Pub Company and Kennedy and Rhind Ltd.
The group also recently acquired the DotBagel outlets in Newcastle under the Kennedy and Rhind banner and is co-owner of two other hospitality businesses – Lovage in Jesmond and Novellos in Washington.
That extensive experience which will now be used to help bring the former Quillam Brothers site back to life.
The venue, which went into administration and has been closed since 2020, is set to be renamed Claremont Tea House and will open in February 2023.
As well as selling a range of signature teas, the new look café will also offer an extensive selection of coffees and bakery items from both DotBagel and Kennedy and Rhind. It will serve both brunch and lunch, with a wide selection of vegetarian and vegan products available too.
“We have a proven track record of running high end cafés and producing amazing baked goods,” said Stuart Young, who owns the Northumberland Restaurant Company and its sister brands. “The recent takeover of DotBagel has allowed us to expand our offering as well as growing the number of sites we have, and the Claremont Tea House will give us another strong foothold in the city.
“We’ll be able to offer a really exciting and extended range of products and it will also mean that we are bringing back to life a great venue, right on the university campus and in a busy city centre location.”
The company has operated Kennedy and Rhind bakery at Holly Avenue West, Jesmond for several years, growing it to become a café with a breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea service.
The DotBagel site at Chillingham Road reopened before Christmas and is fast becoming another success story for the company, which under the umbrella of the Northumberland Pub Company runs the award-winning Blackbird at Ponteland and The Northumberland Arms at Felton.
The teahouse will share Newcastle University’s Sir Terry Farrell Building with the upcoming Farrell Centre, which is due to open in the spring.
