The group of food and hospitality-oriented businesses in the Ribble Valley, Lune Valley and the Yorkshire Dales, has revealed plans to open the £3m hotel and bistro in November at its £10m Holmes Mill redevelopment in Clitheroe, Lancashire.
It will be called the 1823 Spinning Block, named after the part of the old textile mill it will occupy on the site.
The hotel will have 40 individually-designed rooms and the bistro, on the ground floor and with its own external entrance, will have 80 covers.
The complex on which the new businesses will be housed has a 7,000 sq ft speciality food hall, Bowland Food Hall, which opened this summer, which Heidi Kettle, St James’ Places group marketing manager said had “a fabulous fish counter that sourced fresh seafood from Tennants Fresh Fish, of Blackburn, including octopus and oysters.
“We are thinking of having a very small menu of items that are on all the time and a very extensive specials menu so that we can pick whatever’s seasonal,” says Kettle.
Ben Sheeran is the executive head chef at the bistro which will join Bowland Brewery, the focal point of Holmes Mill, which opened a year ago and which claims to have the longest bar in Britain.
St James’ Places has plans to open a “Demo Kitchen” in Bowland Food Hall where customers will be able to book a seat for lunch, learn how to cook it and then enjoy eating it.
“We’re looking forward to seafood specials, perfect pasta, omelette masterclasses, Sunday morning pancakes and much more,” Kettle adds.“What sets us apart is our specialists and their knowledge of the suppliers. They know the producers’ stories, they meet the people that produce the goods, they know its provenance and its history and can share this with the customers.”
The group also plans to open a pool, spa and gym early next year.
Other businesses St James’ Places owns includes The Emporium, which has a coffee shop, wine bar and brasserie and an interior design superstore, in Clitheroe; Milton Hall, a 15th-Century manor house on the banks of the River Ribble and Waddington Arms in Waddington, a contemporary country pub with rooms.