'It’s built on family': Inside Ruby’s Cafe, the new dog-friendly coffee and cocktail bar in Pudsey

Ruby’s Cafe, located on a cobbled back street of Booth’s Yard, just off Lowtown, opened in December 2025 and is already drawing a steady stream of local customers.

The business was founded by wife-and-husband team Nicola and Jamie Vickers, first-time landlords, and is named after their dog. The couple said they wanted to fill a gap in the town’s hospitality offering.

“We were just sitting chatting, and it was one of those conversations that you have while you're out – if we had a bar, what would we do with it?” Nicola said. “And we talked about all the different things that we do with this imaginary bar that we've opened.

“And the more those conversations happened, the more it was getting to the point where we had some really good ideas. Should we actually do this?”

Ruby’s Cafe is housed in a Grade II-listed building which once served as the cellar of the former World’s End pub. The space retains low ceilings, stone flooring and historic features, creating what the owners describe as a cosy and welcoming setting.

The venue serves coffee and tea throughout the day, alongside a menu of cocktails and other drinks.

Jamie said the idea came from a lack of choice locally. “There have been days when we finished work at five o'clock, and we wanted to go for a coffee, but there's nowhere in Pudsey that does that except for Starbucks or Costa or something like that.”

Dogs are welcome at all times, and hot drinks are available until closing, with the couple hoping to establish the venue as a community hub.

“It’s named after our dog because we wanted to centre it around people being able to bring the dogs in, and it being a comfortable, cosy space for them,” Nicola said. “Even down to the furniture, everything about [the cafe] is really dog friendly.”

“The dogs get a free ‘puppuccino’,” Jamie added. “We've had dogs bring their owners!”

Family and community support have played a key role in getting the business off the ground.

“It’s built on family, and we've all built it,” Nicola said. “From the moment that we took over this place and decided that this is what we were going to do with it, friends and family have just chipped in.”

The couple have also prioritised buying locally where possible. “We try to buy everything we can locally,” Jamie said. “We buy all the garnishes for cocktails from the local fruit and veg shop. Even the building materials for the place were bought locally.”

They admitted opening a new venue during a challenging period for the hospitality industry has been demanding.

“It's been nothing as we expected,” they said. “It's been a massive learning curve for both of us, but we think it's going to be so worth it once we really do start getting up and running properly.”

Future plans include bottomless brunches once a kitchen is installed, live music in the evenings and venue hire. Despite being open for just over a month, the cafe has already received positive feedback from customers.

“Everybody's like, ‘Oh my God. I remember coming in here when I were younger.’ It feels as though we've almost brought something back to life,” Nicola said.

“For people to come in and say what they're saying and really understand what it is that we're trying to do is really overwhelming. And we can't thank people enough for actually coming through doors, giving us a go.

“I've lived in Pudsey all my life, and I'm seeing faces I've never seen before in my entire life. And that tells me that they've had nowhere to go.

“The feedback that we're getting as well is that people love the fact that we're doing the cocktails. They love the fact that the coffee machine’s on all night, that they can bring the dogs in.

“It just seems that what people are telling us, it's what they've all wanted for a long time, and it's what Pudsey’s been screaming out for.”