Is Harrogate too posh for burgers?

Rumours that Beer and Burger on Parliament Street was to close down circulated this week, however the pub company said that the burger focused pub concept has worked well in the town and will continue.

A spokesman for Enterprise Inns said: “Unfortunately the current publicans at our venue Beer and Burger in Parliament Street have given us notice and will cease to operate the pub on the April 19.

“However we would like to reassure residents of Harrogate that we are in discussion with another experienced operator who is keen to take this popular pub on to trade with the same name. We hope that the pub’s local customers will continue to visit and show their support for the new publican when they take over and open the doors.”

The Beer and Burger concept has been running since August 2014, and the pub had previously been Grape and Graze.

Former Beer and Burger owners Rob and Ali said: “We would like to confirm that with regret, we have had no choice but to cease our relationship with beer and burger. We created and opened beer and burger in July last year and as local business owners we are very proud of the bar we created with our staff and the positive response we have had to it by our customers. It has developed into a very successful bar, but sadly we were recently told that we would not be able to secure a long term lease or would have any long term future in the site, by Enterprise as they have other commercial plans for it.

“We were obviously bitterly disappointed about losing a business we had put our heart and soul into and were also concerned about the long term job security for all our employees. We assessed our options and felt that if we gave notice now we could offer the staff alternative employment in our other bars; which we did.

“We are now looking for a new site in the area for our ideas and recipes, but in the meantime please come and enjoy the same special burgers at any of our SO! Bars.”Similarly the Purple Pig burger restaurant, which replaced The Regency on East Parade, has closed but just temporarily, bosses say.

Mike Hawkes, general manager of the Purple Pig in Middlesborough said: “We are having a full refit of the Harrogate branch and getting a new management team.

“What we are doing is bringing it in line with our other branches and taking it forward.”

And if you are craving a burger this weekend, Leeds based Boss Burgers has opened a Harrogate Branch on Kings Road and are gearing up for a busy first week.

When asked if Harrogate is too posh for burgers, manager Rob Bradford said: “Not too posh for our burgers at all, we have gourmet burgers.”

The new take-away restaurant opened yesterday and Rob added: “It has been quite busy and we have got great support from local businesses too. There are a lot of independents in Harrogate which is great.”

And if there still aren’t enough burger bars in Harrogate for you, Byron Burger is one of the national brands announced for the new cinema complex at the former Beales site due to open in early 2015.

Where is the best place for a burger in Harrogate? Tweet @HarrogateHound your suggestions.