Member Article

Joint union of the Union rooms…

Owners of the San Lorenzo restaurants in the North East have recently announced they have taken over an iconic listed building in Newcastle after former operators have failed.

Lorenzo NE Limited which is headed up by Stuart Young has recently taken over The Union Rooms site in on Westgate Road.

Originally built as a Gentleman’s Club, the Union Rooms had been a Wetherspoon’s until early 2017 when businessman Andrew Ward purchased the property, initially leasing it to a local leisure operator.

Ward has now leased the iconic building to Lorenzo NE Ltd who has stepped in to rescue the site and jobs to ensure there’s no further unemployment within the city.

The owners of Lorenzo NE Limited, although keeping their cards close to their chests, have given us a glimpse of their future plans. Young told us:

“We plan to bring the upper floors of the venue back into use as hotel bedrooms aimed at the budget boutique market. There’ll be some huge changes to the venue and refurbishment plans are due to commence once all approvals have been obtained.

“We estimate the renovation is going to cost in the region of £1m and will be something very unique to add to Newcastle.”

Newcastle City Council is shortly due to begin improvement works to the area around the George Stephenson statue, directly in front of the Union Rooms, all of which will help to further enhance this part of the city.

The Grade II Listed building has been an imposing structure in Newcastle’s City Centre in a variance of guises, however Young has assured us that they plan to keep as many as the original features of the iconic structure as possible.

Lorenzo NE Limited currently employs 60 staff and this will not only enhance their portfolio but will see the employment of a further 40 staff made up of admin, cleaners and waiting staff. Once the full renovation is complete, Lorenzo NE Limited expects another 20 job roles to be available.

Works are expected to be completed in two phases with works to the bar taking place in around six months and the hotel launching in 2019. In the meantime the bar will be open as normal.

www.unionrooms.co.uk

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