The coffee house is set to be ‘a new brand to the UK which is choosing Hull as its first location’ while the restaurant chain is ‘new to the city’
The ground floor of the landmark Hammonds of Hull building looks set to reopen in 2026, three years after the former food hall closed, with a new restaurant and coffee house being lined up. Though names can’t yet be confirmed “until the contracts are fully signed and sealed”, they have been teased as an “established national restaurant chain” and a ‘next-generation’ coffee shop.
Agents Garness Jones say they are confident the two operators – who are interested in large sections of the ground floor – will prove a catalyst for others to consider the city centre venue. It is hoped Hammonds of Hull will be a key part of Hull’s leisure and hospitality offering once again.
Paul White, director of Garness Jones, said the two operators are “high quality, and will be new to the city.” The restaurant chain “has an established reputation for offering an excellent variety of dishes, for the freshness of their food and for excellent customer service”.
It is already established in many UK towns and cities, including Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. The coffee chain will be totally new to the UK, choosing Hull as its first location.
Mr White said it has “ambitious plans to quickly open other major cities, and overseas, offering a Scandinavian-inspired environment and speciality coffees and signature blends”. The ground floor of Hammonds of Hull has been split into four self-contained units.
Spaces of 9,800 sq ft and 2,900 sq ft remain available, which Mr White says are also ideal for food and drink establishments, alongside the entire 24,105 sq ft basement. This would be suited to a leisure offering, but can accommodate a wide range of uses.
Two units on ground floor, and entire basement, remain available. The upper four floors of the building are now all home to Hull-based call centre Res-Q.
The business has made significant investment into refurbishing the floors itself, but also benefitted from a £750,000 ‘levelling up’ grant from Hull City Council. This helped it expand its workforce in the city and it now employs hundreds of people from the building.
The fourth floor provides a full training area and a mezzanine area for staff to take their lunch and breaks. “We are heading in the right direction to get Hammonds of Hull back where it needs to be,” added Mr White.
“It has been a partnership between the owners, the council, Res-Q and ourselves to make sure this iconic building is used to its full potential. Landmark buildings like this are ideal for creating a thriving mix of both work and leisure in the heart of the city centre.
“With Res-Q now operating from 114,000 sq ft of high-quality office space across four floors, and two of the four ground floor units under offer, we are hopeful of attracting further interest to ensure we have full occupancy of the building soon.”