You can now drink your way around the world – as long as you start in Acomb.
Husband and wife Mike and Lois Reid opened Hop & Glory in Front Street on Saturday (June 9), stocked with 300 different drinks from around the world.
The shop has beers from around Yorkshire, the rest of the UK, mainland Europe and the United States. It also stocks a range of ciders, spirits and snacks.
Mike has worked for breweries for the past nine years in sales and marketing roles around the UK, but he is from Acomb and he and Lois have long wanted to set up their own business.
Lois previously worked for Aviva and also works as a personal trainer and does shifts at Sainsbury’s.
The couple live in Askham Lane with their two daughters, and Mike said they had been inspired by the positive vibe around Acomb at the moment and the success of the new greengrocer’s shop that opened in Front Street recently.
He said: “We looked at other sites in York too, but we want to put something back into the community we live in and help drive Acomb forward. The response to the new greengrocer has been great and we are inspired by that.”
Quirkier styles
It will be open from noon to 8pm on Tuesdays to Thursdays, 11am to 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 11am to 5pm on Sundays.
Mike and Lois will staff the shop themselves and say customer service will be paramount.
“There are some beers that people will probably recognise but also a lot that they probably won’t,” said Mike. “There are some quirkier styles that will appeal to different palates, and we can help people make sure they pick the right beer for them.
“People we’ve been speaking to couldn’t wait for us to open. People in Acomb want more shops and they want more independent shops like this – that’s the vision for Acomb. As soon as our signs went up, people were asking when we would open.”
Some of the harder-to-find beers are from young French, Spanish and Scandinavian breweries, and there is also a wide selection from Belgium and the USA. About half the 300 beers are from the UK, with the other half from overseas.
Yorkshire breweries represented include leading modern operators such as Magic Rock, Brew York and Northern Monk.
Spirits will include whiskies and a gin range, and new lines will be added weekly. Snacks will include crisps, nuts, popcorn and pork scratchings from some of the UK’s best small producers.
Mike said he and Lois had received a lot of support from the building’s landlord, Vince Roberts, who also co-owns Valhalla bar in the city centre.