The opening date of a large new bar in York has been announced – and it comes with free food and drink.
As YorkMix first reported in April, award-winning brewery Northern Monk has taken over the former Forage restaurant on Little Stonegate.
Its fit-out is now nearly complete – and the Northern Monk Refectory will open on Friday, 24 October.
Its owners are promising ” a weekend of celebratory giveaways, DJs, beer tasting sessions and more”.
The Refectory will host three new street food concepts and a ground floor wall-to-wall 20-tap bar. This will pour “draft and cask beers handpicked from Northern Monk’s internationally renowned range”.
The first floor is home to a bespoke dining space and the kitchens.
To celebrate Refectory York’s opening, Northern Monk will be hosting a grand opening weekend on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 October.
Opening at midday on both days, the venue will launch with a big giveaway with 200 free pints, 200 free slices of pizza and 50 packed Northern Monk goody bags up for grabs each day.
There will also be live DJs and a raffle. Beer tasting sessions giving York drinkers a chance to meet the Northern Monk team and discuss the range available inside the new venue.
On Sunday 26 October, the Refectory will open at 10am and debut a brunch menu from the site’s three in-house kitchens developed in collaboration with Supamarkets, a new concept from the team behind the likes of Leeds institutions Belgrave Music Hall, Ox Club & House of Fu.
Long-time collaborators with Northern Monk, Supamarkets will serve up their take on authentic NY style pizza slices and full pies from Yonkers. And there’ll be Japanese-inspired snacks from a new House of Fu off-shoot Fu Express and vibrant tacos from Crudo Cantina.
Northern Monk has a refectory in its home city of Leeds and in Manchester. The York version is the first to open in seven years.
Russell Bisset, founder and managing director at Northern Monk said: “We’re stoked to announce the opening dates for Northern Monk Refectory York.
“There’ll be loads going on across launch weekend, the pints and slices will be flying, we hope you can join us for the party.
“York is one of the UK’s most iconic cities, we’re honoured to be opening our doors here.
“In collaboration with our friends at Supamarkets, the new Refectory site is shaping up to be an incredible venue – a space that brings people together and celebrates Northern culture and community. We can’t wait to share it with you in just a few weeks’ time.”
The opening is part of the company’s intention to become Europe’s biggest craft brewery by the end of 2035, with plans for further Refectory sites already in the works.
