Popular York pub up for sale – brewery says it is surplus to requirements

A popular pub and shop in York city centre has been put up for sale, with its owners saying they have taken it as far as they can.

York Brewery is selling The Yorkshire Terrier in Stonegate, which it opened in late 2004.

Jonathan Barker, managing director of Mitchell’s of Lancaster, which owns the brewery, told YorkMix:

• The Terrier is indeed for sale as we concluded that whilst it has been a York Brewery pub for many years we felt that we had taken it as far as we could and that it no longer fitted our requirements.

Shop and pub

The Terrier has a shop on the ground floor with pub rooms behind and upstairs. It was York Brewery’s fourth pub in the city when it opened, following The Last Drop Inn in King’s Square, The Three-Legged Mare in High Petergate and The Rook and Gaskill in Lawrence Street.

The last of those was also sold several years ago and is now a freehouse, but Mr Barker said:

• There are no plans for any wider disposal of York Brewery pubs and we are currently developing plans for both our brewery and pubs for 2019 and beyond.

The Yorkshire Terrier building is believed to date to the early 17th century, and was remodelled with a new frontage in the late 19th century. It has been Grade II listed since 1968.

York Brewery is selling the lease, which has 11 years left, for £49,500 through local agent Barry Crux.

The premises include the shop, because City of York Council was unwilling at the time to allow the shop frontage to be lost, although the council’s insistence on preserving retail uses has since lessened.

The agents have suggested new operators could focus more on the food side.

They say in the sale brochure: “Food is served on limited trading periods at present, although has been a more intensive part of the operation in the past.

“Undoubtedly a fresh catering offering can be readily re-introduced, thereby enhancing overall sales and profitability.”