It’s a landmark York pub with a long history – and now it is going to get a modern makeover.
Yates York, on Church Lane, is planning some big changes.
And to facilitate the new look, the bar will be closed for part of next month.
Manager Kyle Perkins told YorkMix: “It’s to modernise the Yates’s brand. It’s been around since the late 1800s, and now there’s only a select few left around the UK.
“The changes will showcase that it is one of the places for sports, food and late nights, and have that party atmosphere.
“I want to brighten it up and give that life back into what Yates was when I first started working for the company back in 2008.”
So what’s changing? A fixed DJ booth is to be added to the pub. During the day it folds out to operate as a table, then comes into its own at the tunes are played at night.
An ‘Instagram wall’ is coming to the conservatory area. Kyle says a “really nice chair” will be placed in front of a floral background.
“People will be able to sit in there and have photos, and there’ll be LED writing on the side, saying something like, ‘I’m unique’.”
There will be more booths, complete with TVs, ideal for watching sports matches. They will be bookable in advance.
Yates, owned by the Stonegate Group, will also be launching bottomless brunches. They will be available, pre-booked, seven days a week. It will be a 90-minute or two-hour slot, and include breakfast or brunch and drinks.
Kyle took over at Yates York in February. “I’ve always loved the Yates brand, and it’s is one where I first started my journey with Stonegate Group.”
But he says: “The whole hospitality industry has changed post-Covid. You look around how York is with late night – certain venues can be really busy, whereas certain venues will be quiet post-8pm.”
The York bar “is unique”: “It’s not like any other pub, where you’ve just got your day trade, your food sales and stuff like that,” Kyle said.
“This has all the aspects – your food, your students, your late nights, your cocktails, your sports.”
Yates York will continue to trade through the first week in January before closing for the refurbishments. Then, when it reopens, the new look will be revealed.
“Because it’s a listed building, we can’t really do much to the outside,” Kyle said. “The entrance way will get spruced up.
“But the designs inside, the paints, the flooring and the wallpaper, will look really nice and give that modern feeling.”