The duo who created a much-loved York pub out of nothing but a love of history, a singular vision and visits to reclamation yards, now plan to do something similar – in Whitby.
Matt Bedingham and Vincent Roberts are the team behind Valhalla York.
The bar was a labour of love which saw them transform a 20th century building on Patrick Pool into a Viking hang-out with a rocking soundtrack.
It opened back in 2017. And now they’re ready to commence on a similarly ambitious project on the coast.
They have bought a Grade II listed historic building on Grape Lane in Whitby.
“We’ve been talking about expanding and doing something else a little different. And I guess the closest place to us that edges on that Gothic side, the rock’n’roll and the history, then it’s Whitby,” Vincent said.
“We’ve both been visiting Whitby for as long as we can remember, since being kids, and we absolutely adore the place,” says Matt.
“It’s a jewel on the Yorkshire coast. And when the building on Grape Lane came up, it was just too good to pass up.”
Despite this being their second venue, they’re not creating a chain, Vincent stresses. This won’t be Valhalla Whitby.
The Grape Lane venue will be very much its own place. Tell us more, Matt…
“We’ve got a concept. It’s a historical concept as opposed to a historical theme. We don’t imagine many people will quite see it coming.
“But if you like what makes Valhalla tick – good craft beer, a friendly place with an alternative vibe, rock and metal music, then you’ll love what we’re going to deliver in Whitby.”
So we’re left to guess what it might be. “I don’t think anyone will guess it,” Vincent says with a smile.
Matt said: “It’s something that we both feel very passionately about.
“We like to think that Valhalla connects with people and it stands for something. There’s a bit of magic in that.
“That’s very much what we’re looking to recreate when we do announce the Whitby concept in several months’ time, when we’re a lot closer.
“We have every hope that that people will hear it and see it and get that same level of excitement that they see in Valhalla York.”
Conversion of the Whitby building, which was once a woodworker’s shop, is a major undertaking.
They plan to turn the ground floor into the bar, and they have permission to create a beer garden outside too.
“Then you go down the 250-year-old stone steps, into a basement, which will be another seating area,” said Vincent.
This would also include a cold room where the casks of beer will be kept, visible to the drinkers through a glazed partition.
This is more than just a pub conversion though. They are planning to create a two bedroom holiday let on the top floor, with three one-bed flats on the two floors below.
“The idea behind that, I guess, is to generate a bit of an income during the off-season winter months,” Vincent said.
“Matt and I are really excited to restore this building to its Grade II former glory, offering Whitby much-needed residential living accommodation, not just holiday homes, plus a place to go relax and enjoy food and drinks.”
This project won’t be rushed. They’ve been granted planning permission and hope to start work soon, but don’t expect it to be open until next summer.
Matt says they didn’t cut corners with Valhalla York. “With Whitby, it will be very much the same thing. It will take as long as it takes, it will get the same level of love and care and detail as Valhalla York got.
“We’re still researching the history of the building, and there’s not a lot out there, but it’s very clear that it was a building that serviced the docks and the harbour.
“The great thing about it is we’ve got a Georgian ground floor and a beautiful basement. There’s a lot of detail in there already.
“But there’s a lot of hard work to do.”
They’re not daunted by the prospect. “We’re excited. It’s been a long road to get just to this point. I mean, we’ve probably owned the building now for going on a year,” says Matt.
“I feel like we both just need to start getting some lads on site and some tools and actually start chipping away at it now.”
Theirs is a rare good news story in a licensed trade beset by rising costs and stories of woe. More than 300 pubs closed in the first three months of this year, yet Matt and Vincent are about to double their estate.
“We’ve got a big helping hand, which is we’re beholden to nobody,” Matt tells YorkMix.
“This building is ours. The building in Whitby will be ours. We have free rein to buy what we want.
“We’re not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s the way it should be. But for those people that do get it, that do like the music, that do like that alternative experience, we do tend to sit a little bit on our own – and you can’t beat uniqueness really, particularly in a tough testing market.
“And I think that people are also looking for quality as well.”
Now they have two bars, why not more? “As long as the idea is there and and we have the same level of excitement that we do for Valhalla, then who knows…”