Watch as food hall at Chesterfield’s Glass Yard development opens its doors to customers

The food hall is the centrepiece of the new development in Whittington Moor. It seats just under 300 people, and is home to a range of food vendors serving up everything from pizzas and ice cream to global street food and tapas.

The venue also has its own bar, the Hop Lamp. It serves a variety of first class beers and spirits from the UK and beyond, offering the perfect accompaniment to a meal from one of the hall’s many eateries.

Tim Turner is the managing director of Blue Deer Ltd, the construction company that has brought the Glass Yard to life.

He told the Derbyshire Times that he wanted to bring a new, unique venue to Chesterfield, and said that he was confident people in the town would enjoy what the Batch House has to offer.

“We decided to incorporate a food hall because we thought the town needed something a little bit different. People are ready to have something interesting to do, and this is going to be new and exciting.

“We’re feeling pretty confident- it’s been a challenge to get it open due to Covid and deliveries and things like that, but I think the timing is just about right now.

“We’ve managed to attract quite a lot of very interesting people, and there’s a really nice environment that will hopefully make it a nice place to come and bring the family.”

The customers who had ventured down for the opening day had certainly responded well. Peter and Hannah Buckley had stopped in for a drink and something to eat, and Peter said the Batch House was a welcome addition to the town.

“We think it’s fab- it’s great that we’ve got a place like this in Chesterfield. It reminds us of the Cutlery Works in Sheffield, and we think it’s brilliant.”

Hannah said it was a great opportunity to support local businesses, and that she thought the venue was perfect for families.

“It makes you want to support local businesses more. We’ve got kids as well, and it’d be good to bring them, and obviously they’ll love the waffles and the ice cream.”

The pair were planning on ordering from Brill Burger and Marco’s Portuguese Street Food. Peter said the range of choices made the Batch House a great option for diners in the town, and that he was already in the process of organising a night out here.

“That’s the beauty of a place like this, you can order bits and bobs from different places. I’ve already messaged my mates and said it would be great to come down here for a night out.”

David and Sandra live down the road in Stonegravels, and David said that he had enjoyed his first visit to the Batch House.

“It’s very good, very clean, and everything is of a good quality. We saw this being built and knew it was opening today, which is actually my birthday, so we thought we’d come in and give it a try.”

Sandra said she was thrilled to have this kind of venue so close to her home, and that it was great to see the town moving forwards after the pandemic.

“We’re delighted with it, because it’s a novel thing and it’s actually in Chesterfield- the idea came from Lisbon, apparently.

“The idea of all these different eateries here in one big room is wonderful. Post-Covid, it’s amazing and exciting, and we’re over the moon to have it all on our doorstep- we wish them all good luck.

The Glass Yard is a mixed use 50,000 sq ft development, located on the site of the former fire station on Sheffield Road. It includes a mixture of office and retail space, along with the Batch House.

There are a range of businesses who have already moved in, with a hair salon, private pregnancy scan studio, tattoo parlour and bridal boutique among the new tenants.

MORE: https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/business/the-bars-and-eateries-coming-to-the-glass-yards-food-hall-next-month-3569050