Royal & Derngate shares interesting reasons behind fresh start for cafe-bar in Northampton

Lola’s Bar, located on the corner of Guildhall Road and Swan Street, opened last Friday (September 6), after the former John Franklin’s cheese and wine bar closed at the end of July after five years.

Lola’s is hoped to become the new go-to place for lunch meetings, dinner dates, social gatherings, and pre and post-theatre refreshments.

The new venue is a collaboration between the Royal & Derngate and Bad Butler Hospitality – a growing independent business well-known for its two Saints Coffee outlets and Pala restaurant. This is their fourth establishment.

Rob Parkes, who has been the Derngate’s operations and commercial director since March 2023, shared that a newly rebranded cafe-bar had been on his agenda since he started in the role.

He previously shared that the Royal & Derngate set out to find an “experienced, entrepreneurial and creative operator with strong hospitality credentials to operate a flagship cafe-bar” back in November 2023 – and has now provided more details on that process.

The main aim was to “improve visitor experience” and they held a tender exercise 10 months ago. This brought together 12 different local and national companies interested in taking over the venue, with the hope of finding a perfect fit.

“We wanted a local company to work with,” said Rob, talking about the choice to go with Bad Butler Hospitality. “We were conscious of the fact there were quite a few large operators as part of the tender exercise, who were detached from Northampton.”

Rob and the team were “really impressed” with Bad Butler’s Saints Coffee and Pala initiatives, and felt they were a good match.

This was particularly the case as Bad Butler made it clear that they wanted to make the cafe-bar a destination in its own right, as well as enticing people with an all-day offer – not just at show times.

“It was also their food offering,” said Rob. “The menu looks amazing and will be in place from October as they prepare the kitchen. They are passionate about good cocktails and small dish dining.”

The operations and commercial director says they worked closely with the John Franklin’s team, particularly when the Pickled Pub Company took over in spring last year.

“It was time for a refresh in our way of thinking about the service offered,” said Rob, who recognised that John Franklin’s had been successful but believes now was the right time for something new.

Rob said that all of John Franklin’s staff members were offered roles at Lola’s, and some have chosen to stay on at the new venue.

“We’re really keen to create passionate supporters of Lola’s, and fans of the Royal & Derngate if they aren’t already,” said Rob. “The theatres are a really valued cultural asset in Northampton.”

The main aim moving forward is to embrace a new take on the cafe-bar, to encourage people to engage with the Royal & Derngate in ways they may not have before.

Rob concluded: “We want Lola’s to be an active part of the Cultural Quarter.”