American-inspired brunch chain Moose Coffee to open in Leeds

Moose Coffee, which was formed in 2006, already has three branches in Liverpool and two in Manchester.

The new site in Leeds is the first outside the north-west and will open in Bond Court on December 5.

Moose Cafe is inspired by American and Canadian breakfast and brunch culture.

The restaurant serves an authentic short-order menu and describes the dishes as 'an eclectic mix of comfort food'.

Options include eggs benedict, cheese pancakes, scrambled eggs with pesto and cured ham, or sweeter choices such as buttermilk pancakes, doorstep French toast and waffles in maple syrup.

There's also a daily specials board and vegan options.

Nick van Breemen, the director of the family-owned firm, said they are already considering opening a second site in Leeds and have been interested in the city for around three years.

"Leeds is the obvious next step for us. We love the city and we've been thinking about moving across from the north-west for a while now. We have various personal connections to Leeds - my uncle used to run a business here.

"We have had quite a few landlords chasing us as we are doing really well in Liverpool and Manchester. Our menu is quite extensive - we have over 80 different combinations, so there's plenty to go at."

They decided on a unit in Bond Court after also looking at premises in Wellington Place.

"Everything is about location. We met the landlord and were very happy. Bond Court has the square where there are events in summer, in winter they decorate it - it's just a nice community and we feel we can complement the other food and drink offerings nearby. It's five minutes from the railway station.

"The business community and office workers are a big chunk of our trade, although we appeal to a broad demographic."

The concept is inspired by Nick's visits to New York in the 1990s, at a time when all-day, relaxed dining was difficult to find in the UK.

"We like intimacy, so we don't want cavernous places - we have kept it small as we prefer that sort of atmosphere. We're really pleased with the fit-out - it's evolved to where we want it to be."

The business now employs 150 staff and Nick hopes to become a unique destination in Leeds.

"We've learned from our mistakes and we're doing well now. I'm not aware of anything similar in Leeds. We are quite distinctive - we are very American, you can't order a full English. We've had a lot of social media messages asking us to come to Leeds and we can't wait to open

"Once the job's done at Bond Court we'll look at a second site - Wellington Place is quite appealing although it's quite close to our original site."