Current owners Phil Richardson and Shaun Davies are stepping down and selling the restaurant, and say Healy “had to have it”.
The restaurant will reopen at the end of May with Healy taking the reins. It will be given a “new look, new name and new menu,” according to the chef.
“I’ve been looking for a Leeds venue for a long time and when we heard The Foundry might be available we jumped at it,” he says.
“This place is an institution, it’s been full for 12 years. Anyone who knows anything about decent food in Leeds knows The Foundry.”
“We’ll be sympathetic to what Phil, Shaun and the team have done and what customers have come to expect, but we’re looking to take The Foundry to the next level.”
The Foundry is located in the Saw Mill area of Leeds centre, and has amassed strong followers since opening. It currently operates as a restaurant and wine bar, serving an a la carte menu of modernised British dishes alongside a “wine list recognised as one of the best in the country”, according to its website.
35-year old Healy cut his teeth at Manchester’s El Gato Negro, which won Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Best Spanish Restaurant’ award on the F Word TV show.
A number of parties made bids for the restaurant, which has been a well-known venue on Leeds’ dining scene since 2005.