The team behind one of York’s best bars have a new venture – and it couldn’t be more different.
Vicky Lu Evans and her husband Simon have run The Habit on Goodramgate since 2004, establishing it as one of York’s best venues for beer, food and live music.
Now they are opening The Rehab – a bar with escape rooms attached.
The new venture will boast two escape rooms – one for families and one for adults. Players will compete to solve the clues and unlock the door, with the added incentive of knowing craft beers and freshly-prepared food is waiting on the other side.
“It will be totally different,” Vicky told YorkMix.
Two rooms
Vicky said they have been looking to start a new venture for about six years, but were waiting to find the right venue.
The Rehab will open in the former Veeno wine bar building on Piccadilly, thanks to its hidden asset – a huge basement, which is bigger than the ground floor.
Originally they considered converting it into a play area for children. But then they were introduced to the people behind The Escapologist in Selby, a bar and escape rooms, and thought the idea perfect.
The Escapologist team are going to convert the basement into two escape rooms.
The child-friendly room will have a wizarding theme (*cough* Harry Potter), while the adult version will be themed around York’s favourite plotter Guy Fawkes.
Craft beer haven
The ground floor bar will have a rustic feel, Vicky said.
There will be around five cask ales on the bar, as well as a range of craft beers from around the world.
The menu will lean heavily on veggie and vegan dishes, with only a couple of meat and fish options. It will feature locally-sourced ingredients.
And the new venture will create at least five jobs, which will be advertised soon.
Work is now underway to fit out The Rehab, with the aim of opening it in August.
“We’re so excited about this,” Vicky said. So are we!