The Foundation: Update issued by Meanwood Brewery on opening of new bar in Adel, Leeds

The Foundation, which will be situated at the former site of Cranberries Delicatessen on Otley Road, is currently being developed by Meanwood Brewery, which is owned by brothers Graeme and Baz Phillips.

The new venue will be the brewery’s second spot in Leeds following the runaway success of their flagship taproom in Meanwood, The Terminus Taproom and Bottleshop, which opened in November 2018.

Despite a number of setbacks and missed deadlines during the development of the bar, Graeme said that he is confident that The Foundation will officially open to the public in the first week of August.

He said that it had been “long days and long weeks” getting the venue ready but that it was now “looking great”.

During the renovation the group had discovered “more and more layers” to the venue from its previous guises and found damage under the floorboards, which led them to remove and install new floors entirely.

"There was a lot of work we hadn’t anticipated”, said Graeme. “But it’s looking great. We’ve made the inside bigger and we’ve installed some bi-folding doors so the whole of the front of the building opens up that really opens it up.”

He added that there will be Munich-style benches at the front of the bar and beer garden towards the back.

The Foundation will serve beers produced by Meanwood Brewery when it opens and is also planning to serve food once it gets up and running. Graeme said that the bar has plans to serve “really high quality breakfast menu” through to the afternoon and then open the kitchen up to food vendors for the evenings.

Graeme said that he and his brother have received regular messages of support from the people Adel, who have said “they have been waiting for something like this to come along”.

"We’ve had so much support from the community that we’re pretty sure this place is going to be rammed from the moment we open it”, he said. “There’s already rumblings of other things opening up. We’re already starting to see that formation of a scene in Adel starting to happen.”

He said that he hopes that Adel experiences a similar kind of boom in the number of bars and restaurants as the likes of Meanwood and Chapel Allerton, saying: “It's already a very well-off area but there’s no services really for the people of Adel. There’s a few places here and there but they’re all broken up down Otley Road.

"With us opening and this place a few doors down you will suddenly get people moving up and down the area.”

He said that there will be a “soft launch” of the bar where local businesses, bloggers, friends and family will be invited to nights before The Foundation is officially opened to the public. He also said that there will be ongoing improvements to the various sections of the venue over the next six months.