Leeds’ historic A64 Red Bus Cafe is getting a makeover and a menu overhaul – but the owner has explained how he has pushed back on more radical changes.
The breakfast and lunch venue, on the Thorner layby, York Road, has been boarded up while the interior is being decorated. Owner Daniel Care, 53, thinks it will remain closed for a couple more weeks while they revamp the venue which dates back to the 1986.
A new leaseholder has come into run the business and wants to put their own spin on the place. Daniel said: “My mate’s taken it over and is doing it up to his own taste. He says it will be open in a week but I reckon it will be two or three.”
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The actual double-decker bus was in service in Newcastle in 1968 – but had been withdrawn and placed on the A64 in the 80s. Legend has it, it broke down at the spot it currently occupies, and has been there ever since.
Daniel, an electrician based in Halton, and originally from East End Park, snapped up the business in 2019. He’d passed it on the road many times since he was a child and wanted to keep the historic business alive. The dad of two, of twins aged 29, had been running it himself for the first three years of his ownership before passing it onto leaseholders to manage.
Daniel Care who owns the A64 Red Bus Cafe -Credit:Danny Care
Explaining why he leases the business out, Daniel said: “I work away a lot, as I’m an electrician, so it’s a just a matter of time, for me. I didn’t want to just sell it as one of them wanted to convert it into a tyre shop and something else. I’d passed it as a kid for years and I didn’t want it to just disappear, so I thought I’d just lease it to people I know.”
Daniel says his friend has plans to overhaul the menu by introducing some major changes. He plans to introduce Sunday and roast dinners to the menu which would be a big change as it’s only ever been open six days a week in the past. There’s also plans to change the breakfast menu offerings to involve more hot sandwiches made with roast meats.
How the cafe looked before the upcoming renovation -Credit:Danny Care
Daniel had also pushed back on plans by Burley Banksy to paint it in Leeds United’s iconic blue, yellow and white colours in 2020 when Leeds had been promoted to the Premier League with maverick manager Marcelo Bielsa. Resistant to removing the iconic red paint, he launched a petition.
Daniel said: “It was 60/40 to keep it red. I had my reservations. I thought they would go with the Leeds United colours, though, but that many people like it as a big red bus and know it.”
How the cafe looked before the upcoming renovation -Credit:Danny Care
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