Reuben & Grey, a new Yorkshire retail brand, is welcoming customers to its first fine wine shop, located in the Old Town Hall in Market Square, Knaresborough. The business plans to quickly open a chain of wine shops and high-end delicatessens across the region.
Featuring hundreds of wines from around the world, including an extensive choice of natural and organic wines and English wines, as well as local beers, gins, rums and whiskies, Reuben & Grey is the brainchild of hospitality and wine specialist Luke Morland.
Knaresborough born and bred, Morland is well-known locally having spent time front-of-house management at Goldsborough Hall and running the Bay Horse gastropub in the village for the last five years. With his knowledge of fine dining, local sourcing and gastro pub management, he will be on hand to offer customers insight into the best wines to suit their tastes, their provenance the best foods with which to pair them.
The business is also planning to open a complementary delicatessen in the next couple of months and is currently searching for suitable premises in Knaresborough, Harrogate and beyond. The Reuben & Grey deli will provide a huge selection of luxury produce, including many sourced from local artisan suppliers.
“Over the last year, we’ve seen a real shift in the way people shop and eat. While the high street has suffered from the rise in online retail, consumers are also shopping more intelligently and wisely – they want to know the story behind what they buy. They are now concerned with picking items correctly and ensuring that they have been locally sourced, and we want to be a vehicle to enable them to do this,” explains Morland.
“Our plan is that the Reuben & Grey name will be synonymous with the best of local, ethically-produced food and drink. We will be showcasing Yorkshire artisan suppliers both through our fine wine store and, later, through our gourmet deli, and we believe that there is real public support for an initiative like this where people can have a personal connection with produce while also supporting local businesses.”
Morland continues: “With my background in the hospitality sector, I am also convinced that if we are able to give customers an amazing experience and outstanding service, they will keep coming back to us. We will be recruiting people with a real passion for what we do and training them so that they can share their knowledge and enthusiasm with our customers.”
Dating back to 1862, 33 Market Place is a Grade II listed building located in the heart of the town, and has been refurbished to create a quirky, ground floor wine and spirits emporium. Reuben & Grey has partnered with several Yorkshire-based wine merchants, all of whom deal direct with the winemakers to ensure provenance and quality.
The business is offering online ordering for collection or delivery via a liveried Reuben & Grey three-wheeled Piaggio Ape classic van!
Morland continues: “We are fortunate that Yorkshire has become a centre of excellence for artisan food and gin producers and we want to celebrate this by offering well-sourced, well-displayed products which customers can have fun choosing and enjoying at home. People seem to have re-discovered their love of fine food and wine over the last year, and we are looking forward to helping them to continue that journey.”
Morland will manage Reuben & Grey and the fine wine shop which is expected to create another two jobs.
From Saturday 5th June, the fine wine store will be open seven days a week; from 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am to 4pm on Sundays.
