22 Yards Wine Bar and Merchants in High Petergate, York

22 Yards Wine Bar and Merchants has opened it's doors at 21, High Petergate in the former Cafe Concerto restaurant opposite York Minster.

The business is an independent hybrid model of wine bar and off-premise merchants and seats about 48 people with table service only.

Richard Townsley, one of the owners, said: "We're open seven days a week from noon to 11pm.

"In the first week of trade business has been brisk and we've had some great comments from customers both on the drinks offering and our menu and we have already expanded our food offering since we opened."

22 Yards serves artisan produced charcuterie, cheeses and delicacies from the sea alongside an ever-changing, eclectic, exciting and accessible wine list, many by the glass, including high-end labels and Champagnes.

Working alongside local food producers, the menu features Lindisfarne oysters, Cobble Lane saucisson, dressed North Sea crab as well as cheeseboards and sweets.

Some of the food and wine on offer at 22 Yards

Richard said: "We've made the most of the beautiful Georgian building, the styling is modern with a nod to the building's history and in keeping with the building's heritage.

"During the renovation, beautiful 250-year-old beams were discovered which had been boxed in and covered up for years. These and have now been incorporated into the new design."

The dark blue interior features a bespoke wine rack and completely renovated wash rooms, but incorporates some of the features from the building's previous incarnation as Cafe Concerto, including some of the Singer sewing machine tables and menu boards which have been sanded back and given a new lease of life.

The concept for 22 Yards Wine was conceived at a chance meeting when the owners were watching a local cricket match. After more project planning had gone ahead, on original inspection of the building it was discovered that the serving area is 22 Yards long, the length of a cricket pitch and the name was born.

The bespoke wine rack at 22 Yards

General manager, Georgia VanDerwater, has previously worked at the nearby Dean Court Hotel and for a nationwide catering company as well as at a French catering school.

She said the company currently employs five front of house and two kitchen staff and is looking to employ a head waiter or waitress and a shift supervisor. Get in touch at info@22yardswine.com

"For us, obviously, the big emphasis is on wine, we want to find people who have a passion for wine and we are willing to put them through their win qualifications," she said.

"We have a continental approach to relaxed drinking."

The bar is hosting a tickets event called 'an introduction to 22Yards' on August 10, with a Champagne event pencilled in for mid October. For more information call in at the bar, phone 01904 651215 or email info@22yardswine.com

As The Press reported at the time, Cafe Concerto closed after trading for 28 years after falling victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rozz Hancox, who set up the music-themed cafe with her husband Ian, says that after nine months without cafe income and with an indefinite period of ongoing restrictions at the time, she had had no choice but to close.