What's happening in Rhuthun/Ruthin? Yet more change is what. And it's likely to be structural change, too.
The Fat Boar languishes, closed. So, in spite of all the promise, who knows its fate. The Myddelton Arms, reportedly sustainable but for the fact that the building owner wished to sell, is rumoured to be converted by new owners G Parry to flats. We've recently lost Ocean Pearl.
There are now few places in town these days to eat a *decent* meal. All that's now left are Small Plates (decent? The hygiene rating's still 2 out of 5); and Wetherspoon's (5 out of 5 but it's at the MacDonald's end of the market); and if you prefer more oriental cuisine Himalaya (3 out of 5) or Panda Garden (also 3).
And then there's Ruthin Castle. This has the lowest score possible, at 0 out of 5. It was featured in yesterday's Daily Post as one of eight zero-rated food outlets in North Wales. Four of the eight are in Denbighshire: two in Rhyl, one in Rhuthun and the fourth at Llanfair DC near Rhuthun (The White Horse).
To the Castle's credit, they did give the Daily Post a statement (unlike the other seven who, mysteriously, were unavailable). In moving their kitchen, they said,
'Our error was that we underestimated the challenges that the fabric and organisation of this older kitchen brought. Now operating fully from our refreshed main kitchen, we are working closely with Denbighshire environmental health team to reinstate our previous 4 or 5 score'
Let's hope so because, at the moment, we really do need a decent restaurant. (Not that the Castle has always excelled: up to 2015 it had declined from 3 to 0.)
G Parry
Blink and Parry now has another property. Mike Hall's slowly buying up The Square, with the former Montecito, former Alton Murphy and former Myddelton Arms under his belt. They have other premises in town. We're not sure what Parry's endgame is but once the Myd is converted to dwellings it'll never go back. And, will residential units on The Square cause parking issues and blockages? Will the façade deteriorate? Will it attract unsavoury elements to the Square? On the plus side, there are already plenty of dwellings punctuating the town centre but none other than flats over on the Square itself.
On the Café Side
Pen y Bryn Café and the Candy Shack are to merge, the owner citing exhaustion at running both but are either of them making money? Pen y Bryn was a proper café, selling food.
Amid a loss of other cafés of late, we are seeing something of a minor resurgence, not as cafés themselves but more as shops offering seated space for coffee and cake. Leonardo's (1/5) has increased the covers by reducing its shop footprint. The old Milk Bar proper café on the Square has gone but in its place is Naturally Ethical (late of Well Street where it was 5/5) with some seating but a very limited range of beverages and especially cakes (in fact, no cakes at times). And the Eden Café is open as a side hustle in the Market Place (score awaited).
Meanwhile, new Kaffihaus No. 9 recently opened on Clwyd Street has moved to the Square. It’s small but it's a proper café offering food, even if the threatening window skull has thus far put me off. As does the 2/5 rating.
The Coffee Cabin (4/5) is a relative newcomer but doesn't sell food. Caffi Rh/Café R at the Craft Centre (score awaited) continues as a proper café, as does the one in the Seven Oaks garden centre on Lôn Parcwr (5/5). Between the two in Chain & Sprocket (3/5). Wetherspoon's (5/5) sells snack food. Costa (5/5) continues, as does Chatwin's (5/5). W & G Jones Well Street years ago lost its delicatessen and is now solely a café rarely anywhere near full.