Harrogate cafe to close briefly for further improvements

Since it first opened seven years ago, Baltzersens, the award-winning independent Scandinavian-inspired cafe famous for its great coffee, cinnamon buns, has become renowned for leading the way in its menus and reusable cups.

For example, in May 2018, the cafe on Oxford Street decided that all takeaway coffees would only be served in reusable drinks holders.

Now it is set to become the first cafe in England to partner with Dubli- based cup deposit scheme 2GoCup with the arrival of the first batch of cups expected any day now.

Each 2GoCup lasts a minimum of three years if it is used every single day.

Owner Paul Rawlinson said it's all part of the constant process of making improvements.

Council to scrutinise Harrogate Spring Water's controversial expansion plans in Pinewoods

Mr Rawlinson said: "we’re getting the fundamentals of the business right and, as well as taking a quick look back over the past 12 months, we're ready to share some of the improvements we'll be making in 2020.

"We’ve now been operating the coffee shop part of the business offering the full menu since we knocked through into the existing kitchen at the end of January. It’s great to see more guests giving the coffee shop a try and it definitely has a slightly different feel to the original cafe."

As well as a busy programme of food events in 2019, collaborating with the likes of Gina from Onnuri Authentic Korean Food and Zacki from Kurdish Kitchen and most recently Annabel and her Plant Styles (now rebranded as ‘Bramble’) team, last year also saw Baltzersens launching a series of popular craft events.

As for the brief closure of the cafe, it will return better than ever.

Mr Rawlinson said: "As always we will be closing for a short period at the end of January.

"This year it’ll be for fice days from 20-24th January.

"During that time the key improvement we’ll be making is behind the scenes as we change our kitchen extraction arrangements which should significantly improve conditions for the kitchen team, especially during the summer.

"Guests will notice some changes to our artwork, decor and the addition of cushions to the benches in the cafe.

"We’ll also be refreshing the paintwork throughout both sides of the business.

But, he said, there would be no significant changes to the food menu.

Baltzersens' first food event of 2020 sees the return of Bramble with a vegan Italian feast on 24th and 25th January.

Tickets for 25th are now sold out but there are still some spaces left on 24th.

Harrogate MP speaks out on Northern's rail problems