ALL being well, the doors will open on Sunday.

If the final sweeping, polishing and tidying goes particularly well, some lucky customers might - just might - get a look on Saturday.

Either way, it promises to be worth the wait.

Pavement Vaults, the new bar and smokehouse restaurant on the corner of Piccadilly and Coppergate in York, promises to be a welcome addition to the city's vibrant food and drink scene - one in which it increasingly takes something special to stand out from the crowd.

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Part of the bar area in Pavement Vaults

The scheduled opening is 5pm on Sunday, although it may be sooner. Thereafter, standard hours will be 10am to 11pm on Sundays and 10am to midnight every other day.

The opening of this place marks the culmination of the redevelopment of the old White Swan Hotel site. Flats have been created in the upper floors, Sainsbury's now occupies the part of the ground floor that once housed Bruks coffee shop, and now Pavement Vaults will house the prime corner spot, which was most recently Jessops. Just over 100 years after it was built, this fine building has a new future.

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The White Swan building, as it once looked

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This is the latest venture by Pivovar, the Elvington-based business that previously brought us Pivni and York Tap, as well as Sheffield Tap, Euston Tap, Tapped Leeds and Harrogate Tap.

Whereas all those businesses have specialised in brilliant beer, however, the Vaults adds something more. The mouthwatering beer options are complemented by an exciting food range overseen by Andy Annat, a world barbecue finalist and three-time UK champion.

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When he announced his plans in The Press earlier this year, Pivovar owner Jamie Hawksworth said he wanted the company to take the next step.

He said then: "We have sold beer and we have made beer - now we are pairing food with the beers. We have two very good sites in York Tap and Pivní; we do not need to prove ourselves on the beer level. This is an expansion for us, and shows we are growing up a little as a business."

The new venue's name is taken from that of a previous pub, The Pavement Vaults in Pavement, which closed in 1963 (its the building now occupied by Gregg's).

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The original Pavement Vaults

But if the name is old, Pivovar's vision is decidedly modern.

If you have passed this busy corner in recent days, you may well have seen the team frantically finishing off the work, putting up the signs, painting, hammering and drilling away busily.

But the contractors, staff and owners took a brief break on Wednesday evening, so Jamie, manager Sam Wheatley and their staff could offer a sneak preview of what was to come.

Entering through the corner door, we could see the bar sweeping away in front of us.

The opening beer range includes cask ales Oakham Citra, Timothy Taylor's Landlord, Magic Rock Ringmaster, Thornbridge Jaipur, Steam Brewery's Tunnel Vision and Gun Brewery's Pale Ale. Keg options include Bernard, an ever-present option in Pivovar's bars, and also All Day IPA from Founders Brewery of Michigan, Milk Stout from Bristol Beer Factory, and Earl Grey IPA from Marble Brewery of Manchester.

I took a pint of the Founders All Day IPA, a beautiful beer with crisp, citric, hop flavours but with a lower ABV (4.7 per cent) than many of the American beers that reach the UK, and then wandered nosily round the place.

The area around the bar will be a bustling hive of activity. It offers good potential for people-watching all the way up Parliament Street.

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If you want a quieter pint, head down the spiral staircase to a low-lit room that will host several tables. Another doorway then leads through to a smaller room with a series of snug little booths, with 'vaults' spelt out in huge lights above.

Continue through that room and another staircase takes you back up to the main ground floor, to right beside the kitchen area, in the corner furthest from the main door we started at.

Up here, a retro shop-frontage allows customers to watch the engine room of the whole operation, where Andy's team will be producing food options include spectacular smoked meat dishes, some days in the making.

The samples on Wednesday included ribs; pig's cheek; vegetarian chilli; beer-butt chicken; tremendous, succulent, Argentinian steak; and slices of corn on the cob that had been soaked in maple syrup then rolled in bacon, which had been doused in pineapple juice.

Tremendous food, tremendous beer, and a new lease of life for a York landmark that was neglected for so long. What's not to like?

 

 

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