New Ripon restaurant for ex-Lockwoods site: Interview with owner

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Papa's Mediterranean restaurant is a family independent restaurant that's been trading in Harrogate for just over two years, and now the owners have set their sights on expanding into Ripon and taking up the vacated unit on North Street.

Papa's owner Olsi Papa, said: "We have a lot of customers from Ripon who come to us in Harrogate, and they have told me many times in the past that we should open in Ripon.

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"People in Ripon are very kind and extremely helpful, and we have noticed that they have a very strong community - people look after each other and very much support the independents.

"We hope that Ripon will support us - we are a family independent restaurant, and we will try as much as we can to use local products, and employ locals. We believe there is a market for Mediterranean food, and we can't wait to announce the grand opening and welcome people from Ripon to sample our food."

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Speaking about the Papa's menu, Mr Papas said: "Mediterranean food is our passion, we continue using our grandparents' recipes. We are all about cooking fresh and simple Mediterranean food, and at a very reasonable price, so customers can come not just on special occasions but more frequently, to socialise and enjoy our company."

A notice has gone up in the window of the former Lockwoods building to advertise for kitchen and front of house staff.

Lockwoods closed in December last year when the restaurant confirmed that "difficult trading conditions exacerbated by an industry-wide staffing shortage" led to the voluntary closure of the business.