Leeds' former Red’s True Barbecue to become cafe under new plans
The owners of the Red’s True Barbecue site on Cloth Hall Street are in talks with a coffee shop operator over future use of the building.
A former barbecue restaurant is set to re-open after a new licence was granted by the council.
The owners of the Red’s True Barbecue site on Cloth Hall Street are in talks with a coffee shop operator over future use of the building.
People living above the restaurant, which closed in 2023, raised concerns over noise and anti-social behaviour if it was allowed to continue serving drinks until 2am.
A Leeds City Council licensing hearing was told 17 objection letters were received.
But councillors were told alcohol could only be served with food at the venue in the busy Call Lane area of the city centre.
Will Robinson, representing the applicant, said the new licence would be no different to permission already held by the former operator.
He said: “There is no extension or change to the hours, or the size of the unit.”
Green Party councillor Ed Carlisle was among those who opposed the new licence.
He told the hearing: “I don’t think the original licence should ever have been granted.”
Objector Charles Kidd described how late-night noise previously affected him and more than 50 other residents.
He said: “It vibrates through the building and you can hear it in the flats.”
Councillors were told the premises was owned by Dorset Council pension fund, which was seeking to restore it as a business.
The venue already had permission to serve drinks, but needed a “shadow licence” to ensure it could operate in future.
The current licence is held by property firm CBRE after the previous occupier ran into financial difficulties.
A licensing report said: “CBRE are in advanced negotiations with an independent, boutique coffee shop and cafe operator, who were founded in a different city in the north-west and are hoping to expand into Leeds for the first time.”