The venue, which has stood empty since April 2023, will reopen in the spring as pub and restaurant The Highland Laddie.
Empire Café’s owners Sam Pullan and Nicole Deighton will bring the pub back to life by adding a menu of dishes cooked over flame as well as small plates.
An accompanying drinks line-up will include cask ales, local beers, natural wines, and a concise cocktail menu.
The pub will be given a sympathetic refurbishment to retain its historical charm but also create a ‘casual yet sophisticated dining experience’ and will draw on Empire Cafe’s success in serving comfort food with a fine-dining approach.
The Highland Laddie’s head chef will be Joe Caroll, formally head chef at Crafthouse in Leeds, with Sam Greedy assuming the position of operations manager, Saoirse McLaughlin executive pastry chef, and Alex Holmes beverage manager.
Jon Hughes, who was previously head chef at Michael O’Hare’s The Man Behind the Curtain will continue to oversee the kitchen at Empire Café while Pullan will be executive chef.
Pullan and Deighton opened Empire Café in April 2023 having discovered that there had been a café of that name previously on the site for more than 120 years and decided to bring it back to life. The restaurant received a glowing review from Jay Rayner in the same year and was later named among the best 100 local restaurants in the country by the Good Food Guide.
“We see no difference between running a pub or a café; both serve the community. Our goal is simply to do it better,” says Pullan.
“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.