Empire is on the march with addition of a new venue

The team behind Leeds’s Empire Cafe is expanding by taking over the Highland Pub, in Burley.
This new venture has been renamed The Highland Laddie. The pub has stood empty since April 2023.
Empire Cafe founders, Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton, along with their team intend to provide a refined food and drink offering from The Highland Laddie.
The expansion will create a senior management team working across both venues.
Sam Greedy will assume the position of operations manager, while Saoirse McLaughlin will be the executive pastry chef, and Alex Holmes will be the beverage manager.
Joining them are Joe Caroll (head chef at Crafthouse/Three’s a Crowd), the Highland Laddie’s new head chef, and Jon Hughes (head chef at Man Behind the Curtain), who will continue to oversee the kitchen at Empire Cafe.
Pullan will resume his role as executive chef, ensuring a blend of culinary excellence across locations.
Drawing on Empire’s success in serving comfort food with a fine-dining approach, Pullan said he intends to bring the pub back to life by adding a menu cooked over flame, supported by a host of small plates to enhance the traditional pub atmosphere.
This will be supported by a drinks line-up that includes cask ales, Guinness, a curated selection of local beers, natural wines, high-end spirits, and a concise cocktail menu.
Pullan added: “We see no difference between running a pub or a café; both serve the community. Our goal is simply to do it better.
“We’re stepping into another heritage building in Leeds to refine and enhance it, much like we did with Empire Cafe.
“First and foremost, it will be a pub where you can come and have a drink, much like Empire, where you can still come and get a bacon sandwich and a mug of tea.
“We want to embrace the heritage and pub tradition but make it our own.”
The Highland Laddie will open this spring for lunch and dinner from Wednesday to Sunday.