Leeds bar out of The Woods following refurb
IF you go down to The Woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise as the struggling Leeds bar has recently completed a huge refurbishment and is now operating as a homely local pub offering woodfired pizza, authentic craft ales and a space for business conferences.
Leeds-born entrepreneurs, Paul Logan and Richard Todd – who are also behind the Stew and Oyster brand – took on The Woods bar over a year ago and have since refurbished the three-floor venue with a large wood burning pizza oven, a huge investment into the garden area and the appointment of a new Sardinian chef who specialises in pizzas.
Having successfully refurbished several bars, hotels, offices and restaurants, co-owner Paul Logan set out to bring the bar to life and inject an intimate community feel into the venue.
He said: “It had eight, ten, eleven years of people taking it on and not necessarily understanding what the area needed, so we took it on and it was something we felt very confident we could turn around.
“I’m from a design background, so the furniture, the lighting and everything is unusually good, which is what I think attracts a lot of people into the space. It keeps growing and growing and we are fast becoming the pub to go to in the local area.”
The pub – which is situated in Chapel Allerton, Leeds – also now hosts comedy nights, live music and local businesses’ events on its top floor, which has been kitted out with facilities fit for business conferences.
He added: “We’ve shaken it up a bit, because the actual name itself was a name we inherited, but internally it didn’t have the emotions of The Woods, but it certainly has that now.
“There’s a real warmth to it, an essential part of the pub is a very large wood burning stove which we try to keep burning all year long because you’ll often find pubs where people sit around in their coats, but it’s important for people to be able to come out of their house and feel that they’re going into another living space to enjoy.”
“People come in now and feel they could be anywhere in the world, it’s not specifically Leeds or specifically the UK, it has a feeling which is quite difficult to put your finger on and that’s where the success is,” he said.
