A Leeds restaurant group has surprised its foodie fans by making the decision to expand into the world of beauty by adding a salon to its repertoire.
The team behind Culto Italian and Poco Sicilian have taken over Spirals, a Meanwood hair salon that has been on the same parade as them for decades.
They made the decision to take on the salon after finding out that the previous owner was planning to retire, feeling that it would be a shame to lose such a piece of Meanwood history if the new owners decided to turn it into something else altogether.
The team behind Culto Italian and Poco Sicilian have taken over the Spirals, a Meanwood hair salon that has been on the same parade as them for decades / Image: LINEA
"Just like this, right in the middle of the pandemic, lockdown, and staff shortages, we took over the business to keep it as a hairdressers salon," the team said in a social media post.
"The main idea was to create the salon that we ourselves and all residents would want to visit regularly. The perfect destination where you could escape your daily routine, relax and treat yourself without breaking the bank. An affordable indulgence, if you want.'
The team is known in Leeds for its popular Italian eateries POCO Sicilian (team pictured) and CULTO / Image: Poco Sicilian
Applying the concept of “Beauty in Simplicity” to the new salon, which they've named LINEA, the space is dedicated to enhancing your natural beauty - offering treatments on everything from hair to brows and nails.
Following the mantra of "less is more" they promise they won't be offering anything "artificial or over the top, only the necessary treatments that will make you feel and look beautiful."
"We know, it sounds ridiculous - a team specialising in restaurants have decided to go into beauty now. To be honest, there was not a single day when we haven’t regretted this decision," they continued.
"But, on the other hand, we’ve created CULTO and Poco from scratch once, and we are up for a challenge, even if we have to completely step out of our comfort zone this time."
The salon is located on the same parade as restaurant CULTO / Image: CULTO
As well as helping you to perfect your hair, brows and nails, further treatments on offer at the salon will also include lashes.
Keeping in step with the ethos of the restaurants, products used in the salon will be vegan and cruelty-free.
The team will be using the Kevin Murphy range for hair treatments and colouring, which they say are the "best on the market" for those who want organic, cruelty-free, sulphate and paraben-free vegan products.
To create ethical but stylish nails, meanwhile, they'll be working with The Gel Bottle company - which is also 100% cruelty-free and vegan.
The CULTO team pictured outside their restaurant on the Meanwood parade / Image: CULTO
Explaining their decision to take over the salon, the team said: "When we first found out last year that the owner of the Spirals, the hair salon that’s been on our parade for decades, decided to retire and sell the business, we thought it would be a shame to lose this piece of Meanwood history if the new owners would turn it into something completely different.
Followers were quick to offer their support, with one commenting "This will be a great addition to Meanwood, look forward to visiting."
Another simply said, "You guys are amazing!"
To keep up to date with LINEA, you can follow them on Instagram here and find the salon at 93 Stainbeck Road, Meanwood, Leeds.
We hope you're hungry Leeds, because a big festival dedicated to all things food is coming to Temple Newsam.
The Temple Newsam Food Festival is now in its second year after a resounding first edition, aiming to celebrate cultural diversity, independent businesses, and global cuisine.
It will take place this weekend on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August 2026, with the beautiful and historic Temple Newsam providing the perfectly picturesque location.
The festival will celebrate local talent, independent businesses, world cultures and international flavours.
The Street Food Arena will feature an array of global cuisines, cultural delicacies, and irresistible desserts whilst the event's bustling Artisan Markets will showcase a plethora of small businesses and local entrepreneurs offering freshly-baked goods, quality produce. hand-made crafts, unique experiences, vibrant art, and much more.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
And it doesn't stop there as festival-goers can enjoy a selection of independent bars serving cocktails, specialty spirits, fresh cider, wine and beer.
This year there will be a huge focus on live cookery demos, with ten demonstrations from a whole range of talented chefs including Leeds' own Josh Whitehead of Finer Pleasures, Bobby Geetha of Kerala Canteen and stars from Masterchef and The Great British Bake Off.
And it's not just about food and drink, as new for this year there will be a dog show, plenty of live music and lots of fun activities such as inflatable jousting and target paintball.
Tickets are on sale now, and you can grab yours here.
The hidden Leeds bakery serving giant cheese twists, pickle sausage rolls and chocolate focaccia
Clementine Hall
This spot in the city is baking up some weird and wonderful creations.
But you'll have to act fast if you want to get your hands on them, as it's only open one day a week for all your doughy desires.
Introducing Fold, a focaccia-focused bakery by the talented team behind The Cheesy Living Co.
Rewind to this time last year and with three restaurants flourishing across Leeds, the team needed a space to bake all their bread and sweet treats in-house to supply to sites.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
And this is where Fold came in, located underneath the arches of Brussels Street on the outskirts of the city centre - it may take a while to find this spot but once you have, it'll be worth it.
And they're making some of the most inventive bakes that we've seen.
Of course there'll always be a focaccia on offer, with flavours ranging from crispy chilli oil, sesame and spring onion to kimchi, cheese and pistachio.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
And it's not just savoury focaccia, you'll even find gooey chocolate and banana focaccia as well as Biscoff waffle focaccia....yep, seriously.
Elsewhere they specialise in gigantic footlong cheese twists with more crispy bits than soft, as well as chorizo and cheese stuffed sausage rolls and a range of freshly baked bagels for you to go home and smear in your cream cheese of choice.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Some seriously spectacular specials have been the gochujang cookies and the 'pickle roll', basically like a sausage roll but with...pickles.
It seems there's really no boundaries for where these bakes will go, and you can guarantee that every visit will be different than the rest.
Only open on Saturdays from 10am - 1pm, Fold are changing the baking game. Pop in and say hello, you won't be disappointed.
Georgina Pellant -
13th September 2021 
