A major York bar is to close, YorkMix can reveal.
Pitcher & Piano on Coney Street has been sold. It could close within a few weeks, we understand.
Pub operator Marston’s, the owners of the bar, has confirmed the deal.
The venue is going to be home to the new Katie O’Brien’s Irish bar.
Pitcher & Piano staff met the new owners this morning. The owners could not confirm many details about people’s jobs as the deal was still at an early stage.
A Marston’s spokesperson said: “The team is transferring across to work under the guidance of the new operator of the site.”
With its prominent riverside location overlooking the Ouse, the building has one of the prime hospitality spots in York city centre.
There is no indication yet as to how long the bar will be closed while it is refitted under the new branding.
It will mean more major upheaval for this part of York. Across the way from the Pitcher & Piano is Revolution, and that will go under the Coney Street Riverside project to revitalise the riverside.
A “high-end restaurant” wants to move in, the developers have said.
YorkMix revealed in May that a Katie O’Brien’s Irish Tavern was set to move into York.
The seven strong chain, inspired by the iconic pubs of Dublin’s Temple Bar, already has venues in Harrogate and Leeds.
They sell Guinness and Murphy’s Stout, and have a strong emphasis on live music and sport. The Leeds bar opens till 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.
The owners of the Katie O’Briens chain, the Newcastle-based Innvest Leisure Group, have been posting Instagram posts teasing its York location for weeks.
One included the pictures below of what they said was a “before shot” and a “taste of what’s to come”.
That clearly isn’t the inside of Pitcher & Piano, however.
It will be the second big Irish bar to open in recent months. The Dubliner York opened in the former Maltings free house in Tanners Moat in December.