Hammonds of Hull: First look inside artisan food hall that could revitalise city centre

‘ HUGE POTENTIAL’: Eann Smith, operator of Hammonds of Hull

A new retail “destination” that could revitalise the city centre opens next Friday, in a first for Hull, Yorkshire, and the country. The Hull Story was given exclusive access to the new artisan food hall, Hammonds of Hull, to get a taste of what’s to come. Simon Bristow reports

How to regenerate the high street in an era of online shopping is a question that has baffled policy-makers.

But in what was once the decaying shell of a former Hull department store, the finishing touches are being carefully put to an ambitious new retail project that could provide the answer.

Artisan food hall Hammonds of Hull opens its doors for the first time on Friday, December 3, with an eclectic offer that it is hoped will prove a hit locally, and attract visitors from across Yorkshire and the Humber region; massively increasing footfall in the city centre.

Similar projects by the same operator are at planning or construction stage in Cheshire, Worcester, and Edinburgh, and there could be 20 across the UK, but Hull’s will be the first. Each will be unique to its location, drawing on the best of local produce and creative talent, and strongly influenced by the area it serves.

The idea is to provide an “experience” that is a mixture of hospitality, retail, and culture, with the finest food and beverages at its core.

“We just want to create an amazing destination, something that doesn’t exist, for the people of Hull and Yorkshire, and we want the support of people to come and use it,” said operator Eann Smith.

“I don’t know many sites that combine hospitality with food and beverages and music. We looked at old department stores to work out how can we regenerate them, using businesses of Hull and businesses of Yorkshire, to create a destination which is all based on local producers, local manufacturers, local vendors.

“This store could become a hub for Yorkshire, using locally produced tea, beer, wine and meat produce, and then it becomes about local farmers, producers, manufacturers, the best produce in Hull.

“It comes back to the food offer; people have to go out to eat or go shopping. It’s about an experience, socialising, being in a nice environment. And hopefully it’s a commercial success to pay all the staff and run it.”

Based in the former Hammonds building on Ferensway, which has also traded as Binns and House of Fraser in its long retail history, it is arguably in Hull’s prime city centre location, being opposite the train and bus station, and opening up onto the pedestrian area of Paragon Street.

It was this that helped convince Eann of its potential when he first visited the site in August 2019.

“It was really amazing to see how many people were walking across the street from the station, but I’ve done quite a lot of real estate deals in Hull in the past, so I know Hull,” he said.

Asked for his thoughts on the city, he said: “Architecturally, it’s amazing, I think it’s got lots of heritage. When I look at this place it’s got so much to give. It’s got huge potential and it feels under-serviced and under-supported.”

The store is now a hive of activity, as those making sure the shelves are stocked mingle with the workmen finishing off the building around them.

An indication of how busy they are, and how much is still to do, comes with the smell of wet concrete, and the interruption of our interview by a man in a high-vis jacket, who suddenly appears, looks at the ceiling above, and says: “Excuse me, I need to drill there.”

It’s a bit like a retail version of Escape to the Chateau and is changing by the hour, but enough is already in place for anyone with a memory of its department store days to see what a remarkable transformation has taken place.

In one sense it has a feel of Harrods, with pop-up concessions offering quality niche products catering for every whim and palate. But its organic ethos, with many locally sourced products prepared on-site, also give it the air of a Moroccan bazaar; with an emphasis on craftsmanship rather than mass-produced homogeneity.

There’s also a European and international element, both in the decor and among some specialist products.

A good example of this is at Vino Deli, where food and beverage head operator Guiseppe Pantalone is overseeing the preparation of more than 300 wines and a collection of rare cheeses and meats. He is more than happy to explain their provenance to the lay person, and it’s as good a place as any to dive into foodie heaven.

There are, for example, delicious-looking fillets marinated with red wine; culaccia, the most valuable, boneless part of ham, made in the same process as parma ham; culatello, an aged and sometimes spiced Italian ham, and zibello - meat from a black pig normally found in Sardinia.

There is also bresaola venison, which has zero fat; porchetta, a specially prepared suckling pig; smoked goose breast; and bresaola chianina, another zero fat, deep red meat taken from a muscular cow bred for moving farm machinery; Tuscan ham; and nduja suasage - a “spicy, spreadable” sausage.

The cheese counter is just as enticing, with Sardinian goat’s cheese; gorgonzola; walnut cheese; pistachio cheese; and plenty of fresh pasta nearby.

Thirsty work, you might think, which leads Giuseppe nicely onto the wine.

“My intention was to give people a large variety of grapes from every corner of the world,” he said, and he seems to have succeeded.

There are wines here from Hungary, Chile, South Africa, Italy, France, and Spain, to name but a few. Giuseppe reaches up and pulls down a bottle of Jacquart champagne - “our premier champagne at the moment”, he says, which is not surprising, as it costs over £100 a bottle.

But prices will not be prohibitive with the range on offer. There are “entry level” wines from between £7 and £10 a bottle, and for those who like to taste and serve themselves, there are machines serving wine by the glass in 50ml, 125ml, and 175ml measures - all you have to do is swipe your credit or debit card on the machine.

“You can even buy a bottle and drink it here,” Eann said.

There are also Italian and Montenegrin liquers, and “delicious” dessert wines.

There are some fine gifts to be had here, and if you would like to leave with an array of complementary products, it is encouraging to know Vino Deli will be selling Christmas hampers.

That’s just one of the distinct areas and spaces in this 30,000 sq ft emporium, which blend into each other on the vast ground floor. It even has its own gin and vodka distillery.

In total, it will open with 12 different food and drink stations.

Along with the new there are some nice nods to the past, with Picadish - a name that recalls the “golden era” of Hammonds past, which will provide locally produced gelato, cakes, and tarts and speciality dishes.

There is also the 1821 Cocktail and Coffee Bar, named for the year H W Hammond opened a drapery shop on the old North Bridge. An old bronze sign commemorating the date will also be on display.

Bronze features on the exterior that had been hidden beneath black paint have also been restored in the tasteful renovation.

It is this sort of attention to detail that helps explain what a task the refurbishment has been, which Eann called “a journey of monumental proportions”.

He said: “The building was at the end of life when House of Fraser went into administration and vacated it in 2019. It had century-old windows and the roof was leaking. Our construction team has helped the landlord refurbish the whole building.

“We got on site in March 2020. Eighteen months from a standing start, no planning permission, the building’s been stripped, completely refurbished and renovated, we have done that and fully stripped out the 1980s House of Fraser look.”

It took 12 weeks to sandblast the columns, and a robot had to be brought in to “peck the stairs out because it was dangerous”.

The lighting is another feature that gives the building its new and distinct identity, ranging from an exquisite chandelier, LED, old ships’ lights - which cost “tens of thousands of pounds” - to reflect the city’s maritime heritage, and old industrial lights from Japan.

A four-metre by four-metre wisteria and an olive tree are also being installed to add to the ambience, and there will be a concierge desk to help visitors on arrival.

And it’s not just about sales.

A wall will be dedicated to the street artists from Bankside, while over in the Vinyl Lounge, there will be a performance space for local musicians playing acoustic, piano, orchestral pieces, and DJ sets. This links to a record shop run by Bug Vinyl Records of Beverley.

Nor will visitors be subject to the staid background music of most large stores, as there will be a #HoHNewMusic playlist, featuring local artists, jointly curated by Mike White, of Hull’s Browse magazine, and Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum producer Jake Gosling, who has worked with Ed Sheeran, Libertines and KSI at the Goldun Egg record label.

There are plans to to have a HoH recording studio in the cavernous basement next year, which could also host other music and entertainment events, while there may also be a HoH record label.

In keeping with the DIY theme, the food hall will feature a ‘Guerrilla Street Kitchen’, which will provide a platform for local chefs who have talent but not the resources to open their own restaurant.

“We’ll give that to local chefs and that can be an incubator, and hopefully they’ll do well enough to go on and open their own business,” Eann said. “They will have a chance to create their own menu and they might come forward onto the frontline”.

Eann said the venue would also be implementing a “zero waste” policy, so at the end of the day the chefs will go round and make fresh dishes from whatever food has been left over from earlier preparations.

There’s a seating area which will act as workspace or community hub, with free charging points for laptops and other devices.

The launch will be accompanied by live music and other entertainment, with the Lord Mayor officially declaring Hammonds of Hull open at 6pm. The opening coincides with Hull BID’s street food festival, which usually attracts 10,000 people to the city centre, so there will be plenty of passing trade.

“What was interesting for me as an operator is you’ve got 5.2m people in this region as a catchment; one-million in the East Riding. Visitor numbers are important for me. We have always said we want to try and attract 40,000 people a week to this site, that’s two-million a year.

“Can we get people in from Leeds to visit Hull? Can we entice people from Selby and Brough to get on a train and come this way? People in York, Scarborough, Grimsby, can we get them to come here, have some food, do a bit of shopping and have a day out?

“It’s a huge risk, it’s a huge investment, but you know, in this location I think we’ve got half a chance,” Eann said.

“Success will be can we breathe life back into retail on the high street when everything’s going online.”

Opening day is tantalisingly close. But HoH is already making a positive difference to the area. The ground floor already employs 146 people, with 90 per cent of them from Hull.

The artisans are here, and they could be about to save Hull’s bacon.