‘Use us or lose us this summer’: Why the YEP is shining the spotlight on city's hospitality heroes
‘Use us or lose us this summer’ 🍴
That’s the message from the people who make up Leeds’ thriving food and drink scene - and why the Yorkshire Evening Post is launching a new campaign this summer.
We all know that you don't realise how much a place matters until it's gone.
The corner cafe where your mornings begin with a coffee. The restaurant where your family books time and time again for gatherings and important milestones. The bar where strangers become friends.
These are more than just venues - they are the backdrop to our lives in Leeds.
This week marks 10 years since the Brexit referendum, and over the last decade the city's hospitality businesses have told us they’ve faced challenge after challenge.
From soaring supply costs and staffing shortages to rising energy bills and changing consumer habits, many have had to fight simply to keep their doors open.
But despite the difficult economic climate and pressures, the food and drink scene feels as exciting as it’s ever been right here in the heart of Leeds.
Restaurants are earning national acclaim. Young entrepreneurs are setting up new businesses and many people are getting their first jobs for a taste of the world of work.
Bavette’s Sandy Jarvis and Sam Pullan, co-founder of The Empire Cafe and Highland Laddie, have emerged as highly-respected leaders of the city’s food and drink industry in recent years.
And in the true spirit of Leeds, they’re pouring that success back into helping others in the industry to thrive - launching a new initiative designed to bring together the city’s independent restaurant, pub and bar owners.
Leeds Hospitality Collective will be centred around mentoring and peer-to-peer support to help make Leeds “the strongest, most exciting hospitality scene it can be”.
It is also about bringing those determined to make a difference together to shout and campaign for the sector and ultimately champion hospitality.
“It’s an amazing public out there,” Sandy told us. “And I think that’s what makes the independent scene in Leeds so special.”
The message is clear: if you can afford to, use your local, independent restaurants.
But Sandy told us that the Leeds public are already doing that in spades - and the support between independent businesses is special.
Our foodie businesses need financial support. They need practical guidance and a helping hand. And they need people to shout about them.
That’s why we’ve launched our Leeds Summer Served campaign, celebrating the people, places and passion behind the city’s food and drink industry.
Over the next 10 weeks, we will shine a spotlight on the best of the industry, telling the stories behind the businesses that give the city its flavour.
We'll take readers from tiny micro bars to the kitchens pushing for Michelin Stars, champion the entrepreneurs investing in Leeds, and encourage people to discover somewhere new, revisit an old favourite and support local wherever they can.
And we'll also explore the challenges the sector faces this summer and amplify the voices calling for change.
If we want to remain a city that people are proud to visit, work in and call home, we cannot take our independent food and drink businesses for granted.
They are part of what makes Leeds, Leeds.
This is the story of a movement determined to change that.
A campaign born from a simple belief - that hospitality deserves its place on the map.
It is not an afterthought but one of the most powerful forces driving connections and opportunity right here in the heart of Leeds.
Because once these doors close, they rarely open again.
And when hospitality disappears, we lose far more than just businesses.
We lose the places where life truly happens.