The Pantry Oakwood: Leeds cafe announces closure following 'unrefusable' offer from The Cheesy Living Co

The Pantry, in Roundhay Road, opened in October 2022 selling coffee, fresh sandwiches and salads, pork pies and sausage rolls from a local farm and homemade pastry items and cakes.

At that time, the cafe and grocery shop was the latest addition to lively independent high street in Oakwood. But on October 19, The Pantry announced that it would be closing its doors.

The Instagram post said: “The time has come for The Pantry to say Goodbye to Oakwood... We have tried to fill as many of you in this week in person to tell you the news but for those we haven’t yet reached we wanted to say goodbye and a huge thank you for your support this past year.

“This isn’t a sad post FYI – we have had an offer we cannot refuse and will be passing over the unit to a super exciting business… keep an eye out on the building as they will be starting work ASAP and we think the people of Oakwood will love it.”

Last month, The Cheesy Living Co, a modern deli housed in the Corn Exchange that opened in 2020, announced it will be taking over The Pantry site.

The new venue, which is a multi-storey shop, will allow for The Cheesy Living Co to expand its services. It will be serving fresh coffee during the day, its infamous fondue in the afternoon and wines in the evening as well as its specialism – cheese and charcuterie.

Beers from the award-winning brewery North Brewing Co will also be available on-tap.

The company said it has plans for the new site to be used for fine dining and collaborations with other independent businesses to bring three-course meals to Oakwood. Renovations of the site are currently underway and an opening date is yet to be announced.