Huddersfield’s popular café bar The Clock House is to re-open – but key new staff are needed to run it.

The Clock House, tucked away in Hammond’s Yard, off King Street, has been closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, with staff furloughed.

The venture was the realisation of a dream for businesswoman Gini Garside. She had opened the café in October 2018 and by the end of 2019 it held regular bistro nights with guest chefs.

Rave reviews from customers saw its reputation soar on Trip Advisor but then came the pandemic. The cafe took a hit as customers stayed away before the business was forced to shut its doors along with the rest of the hospitality industry.

The Clock House has never re-opened – not even for takeaways – and there were rumours it was gone for good.

However, Gini has announced she has new plans to re-open the café bar – but to do that she needs help.

“I really did wonder if this day would ever come,” said Gini. “It was heart-breaking because I put seven days a week into the business. It’s been a long, hard road and it’s cost me thousands of pounds just to ensure we are still here.”

Gini Garside will be back at The Clock House

Gini, 49, had seven members of staff, two of them part-time, when lockdown happened and her staff were all furloughed.

Over the months staff have moved on and only one employee remains, and furlough support finishes at the end of September.

Gini took a permanent job as school manager at a preparatory school in Halifax in July last year. It’s a role she loves and she has no intention of leaving.

That means she now wants to recruit a manager and a chef to run The Clock House as their own.

“It’s like starting again from scratch,” said Gini. “But we’ve done it once and we’ll do it again. This time it won’t be me and I want to hand over the management to someone with great ideas who is ambitious and keen to make their mark, and who may eventually want to take over the business.

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“I’m looking to recruit another me – but one who’s far more efficient! And I’m looking for an amazing chef who can work with the new me to recreate The Clock House with their own ideas yet retaining what had made us one of the best rated cafes in Huddersfield.”

Though Gini received some grants and furlough payments for her staff, she still had to subsidise the business and it’s only continuing good wishes from customers that have kept her going.

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“I still receive many text messages or Facebook messages and that’s encouraged me not to throw in the towel,” she said.

“The dream is still alive but it will be more from afar, although I’ll be back working in the café on a Saturday.

“I’ll work for nothing to get the café back on its feet and take my orders from the new manager. I’m looking for someone to run it who doesn’t just want a job, they want to build something for themselves.”

Gini said salary packages were open to negotiation for the right candidates and anyone interested should email her on ginigarside@gmail.com.