Wetherspoon's reveals planned opening date of new pub near Crystal Peaks in former Damon's Restaurant building

The famous pub chain is taking over the distinctive, round building close to Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre, which used to be home to Damon’s Restaurant.

The American diner closed in November 2019, and the building, on Sevenairs Road, Beighton, was purchased by JD Wetherspoon which already runs a number of pubs in the area, including The Spa Lane Vaults and The Portland Hotel in Chesterfield town centre.

Sheffield Council has since granted planning permission to transform the restaurant into a “drinking establishment”, including “relocation of entrance canopy, replacement doors and windows, provision of external seating areas and alterations to parking arrangements”, as well as a “garden area to the front”.

Planning permission has also been granted for signage at the venue, including “pole signs, a low-level roof sign and panel signs”.

However, proposals for a “high-level Wetherspoon roof sign” were rejected and also refused on appeal, with planning inspector Chris Preston saying: “The sign would detract from the curved roof, which is an important architectural feature of the building.”

Development work

And the pub chain – which is planning to invest £145 million opening new pubs across the country – has now said work on transforming the empty building into a pub will start in August, ahead of a planning opening in November, almost two years to the day since Damon’s closed.

Eddie Gershon, JD Wetherspoon spokesman, said: “Wetherspoon is to start development work on the pub, which is to be called The Scarsdale Hundred, on August 2.

“It is set to open on November 16.”

The name reflects the pub’s location on land which used to be part of Derbyshire, until boundaries were redrawn in 1967.

It is derived from the late Saxon period when counties were historically divided into administrative divisions called hundreds, which we now know as districts.

Derbyshire was split into seven hundreds, with Scarsdale located in the north-east of the county, bordering Yorkshire and containing some villages, such as Beighton, which are now part of Sheffield.

Planning permission has also been granted for a drive-thro Taco Bell restaurant on part of the existing Damon’s car park.

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