This month, leading Liverpool restaurant The Art School have announced completion on a £380,000 expansion of its Sugnall Street premises.
Developments include the creation of a cellar Champagne and cocktail bar as well as a 24 seat private dining facility – and have helped create 11 new jobs.
And keeping it local is clearly important to Chef Patron, Paul Askew, who also used Merseyside-based interior design team CraveID and insisted local tradespeople were employed to complete the ambitious expansion.
Mr Askew decided to expand when the opportunity arose to purchase additional space at the Sugnall Street premises. He added: “My main motivation was to keep pushing the city’s gastronomy offer forward to deliver the capital city standards it deserves. Having these new facilities will really strengthen our ability to do that.”
The bar and tasting room at The Art School offer dedicated, state-of-the-art kitchen facilities so as not to interrupt service at the popular main restaurant.
But Mr Askew says that expansion efforts are already offering far bigger benefits than they anticipated and offers something new to the dining and leisure market in Liverpool.
“Yes, it was a sizeable investment,” he says, “but the new spaces have also given us additional food preparation and development areas and that for me is invaluable and is already paying dividends.”
“I felt that there was a gap in the city’s offer with high end bars. The fact that the Cellars’ linked through an old Victorian passageway means our diners can retire for after dining drinks without having to brave the elements.
“We’ve invested in a tutored tasting room, which is already proving very popular, so guests can enjoy a sommelier-led tasting experience. For me it’s all about raising our level as a city.
“It’s not just for our diners though, it’s for all to enjoy. One of our guests recently described it as like a spa where the treatment is food and drink – I’m more than happy with that”.
The Moriarty Private Dining Room, named in memory of Paul’s late mother, is the final piece in The Art School offer for Paul.
“The private dining room has been an ambition of mine since we opened but it’s taken a fair amount of time to conclude negotiations. Up until recently we’ve accommodated larger parties in the main dining room, which is fine but can change the ambience a little on occasion.
“The private dining room has its own reception bar and washroom facilities – it’s effectively a little discreet haven and has already hosted a number of dinners including a delegation of Chinese guests to commemorate the launch of the Terracotta Warriors exhibition”.