It's the first full week of June so let's make it a belter.
The bank holiday weekend is behind us, we’ve welcomed a new month with open arms, and it’s really starting to feel like summer now.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our 'what's on' this week.
Here’s some of our recommendations.
Cocktail pop-up at Opposite Cafe
Saturday 8 June – Saturday 29 June 2024 | Opposite, Chapel Allerton
Image: Supplied
From Saturday 1 June, each Friday and Saturday night throughout June and July, visitors can enjoy hand-crafted cocktails at Opposite in the heart of Chapel Allerton.
Blank Canvas Drinks, which are handmade right here in Leeds, is teaming up with Opposite to offer a monthly menu of fourteen hand-mixed cocktails this summer including crowd-favourite Espresso Martinis, made with Opposite’s very own coffee.
Honi Poke Opening
Tuesday 4 June 2024 | Albion Street
Image: The Manc Eats
The popular Hawaii-inspired poke bowl eatery is opening inside Trinity Leeds and to celebrate their highly anticipated opening, they’ll be serving poke bowls for just £1 all day long.
But what is a poke bowl you may ask? Well, allow us to fill you in. Poke, meaning ‘to slice or cut’ in Hawaiian refers to chunks of fresh, raw fish which is tossed over sticky rice and vegetables and topped with umami-packed sauces. Delicious.
Thursday 6 June – Sunday 16 June 2024 | Victoria Leeds
Image: Supplied
Following the huge success and popularity of last year’s Fashion Weekender, Victoria Leeds Fashion Week will begin on Thursday 6 June, starting in style with a spectacular fashion show staged in the iconic Victoria Quarter.
Kicking off at 7:30pm, the catwalk will showcase the spectacular runway trends of SS24, from the ongoing domination of 90s-inspired minimalist oversized tailoring, through to sports luxe and ‘Western Rebel’.
Victoria Leeds Fashion Week will run from Thursday 6 to Sunday 16 June, with Fashion Show Standard tickets starting at £20 and VIP tickets available for £35. Grab your tickets here.
Free pizza with every drink at Fibre
Monday 3 - Friday 7 and Sunday 9 June 2024 | Call Lane
Image: The Hoot Leeds
If you’ve ever been out on Call Lane over the past twenty four years (yes, that’s almost a quarter of a century), then you most definitely will have popped into Fibre. And now, they’re hosting an offer which you simply cannot refuse. A free pizza, baked fresh to order, with every drink purchased.
Available Sunday – Friday all day before 8pm, you can munch on pizza and sip on cocktails to your heart’s content.
Viral bakery Get Baked will be closing the doors of its Headingley bakery at the end of next month.
It’s safe to say that Get Baked is a proper Leeds success story, opening five years ago and fast becoming one of the most viral bakeries in the UK.
Customers had their fingers on the pulse to grab a slice of that oh so mighty chocolate cake week in, week out, and us locals felt very lucky to have a Get Baked on our doorstep.
But unfortunately, this won’t be the case anymore as today the bakery has announced they’ll be closing their Headingley site for good.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Owner Rich took to Instagram to announce the sad news, he said: “These are words I never envisaged myself writing, but I must share with you all the news that at the end of February, our Headingley store will be closing.
“When we opened the site 5 years ago, it was a requirement of the landlord that the lease was personally guaranteed — at the time I had little to lose, and didn’t think twice.
“Now our lease is up for renewal, with the same requirement for me to personally guarantee it — the difference being that I have a lot more to lose, and with a significant rise in rent and rates, paired with the obvious strains on hospitality that everyone’s more than aware of — I can no longer personally guarantee the lease.
"The new lease would mean that the price we lay out in Headingley would exceed the amount we pay for our site in Manchester City centre, which for the style of business that we are, is just madness.
"Being busy is no longer enough to make most hospitality sites work, you have to squeeze so hard to the point where there’s no real fun left — record sales weeks become less of a joy, and more of a necessity.
"For complete transparency, the business has grown to a point where we have to take £500,000 a month to break even — it’s very scary, but it’s all a result of the rapid growth that we’ve undergone over the last few years.
"We are extremely lucky to have a very strong online business. We serve thousands of customers every week delivering desserts all over the country — online is very much the future of GB.
"I have an enormous amount of gratitude for the teams that we’ve had in Headingley over the last five years — we’ve employed some incredible people that played a pivotal role in the businesses success.
"Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are — I’m extremely grateful. I must also thank our customers — when we relaunched the business from nothing in 2021, we were welcomed with open arms.
"OG customers from the previous iteration of GB came back like it had never left, it was truly remarkable. I’m conscious that Headingley serves some of our most loyal and regular customers, and I am so grateful to you all for your support over the years. We will close the doors on Saturday the 28th of February."
If you’re still looking to get your Get Baked fix, you can either order online or take a trip across the Pennines to visit their bakery in Manchester City Centre.
Leeds pub requests extended opening hours after Otley Run ban
Ownership The Hoot
A pub in Headingley which failed in a bid to join the Otley Run has applied for later opening hours.
You may remember back in December when The Golden Beam in Headingley requested to join the ever so famous pub crawl, The Otley Run.
The application was denied by Leeds City Council, but now they're focusing their efforts on a different application in a quest to extend their opening hours.
The pub which serves until 10:30pm on weekdays and midnight on Friday and Saturday, has applied to operate until midnight Sunday to Thursday and until 00:30 at weekends.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Leeds City Council will consider the application at a hearing next Tuesday 20 January.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, 22 objections have been made by locals and from Headingley and Hyde Park councillor Tim Goodall.
Goodall said in a letter: "Allowing the Golden Beam to open later is likely to lead to increased consumption of alcohol, which is then likely to lead to an even higher rate of drunk and disorderly crime."
At the hearing councillors will have the option of granting or refusing the application, or allowing it with additional conditions when considering the extended hours.
A spokesperson from The Golden Beam said: “The Golden Beam has extensive seating and lavatory facilities within the pub, CCTV throughout, no music, food availability until 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 11pm Friday and Saturday and highly trained staff."