An award-winning Michelin star restaurant in the Lake District is planning to extend its premises and expand into the tapas market.
The Old Stamp House, which operates from a basement in Church Street, Ambleside, has lodged plans to open a new restaurant upstairs.
The street level unit has been empty since the departure in December 2021 of Greggs to a larger premises at nearby Market Cross.
A planning application has been lodged with the Lake District National Park Authority for a change of use of the old unit from a shop to a restaurant.
The Old Stamp House, run by brothers Ryan (pictured) and Craig Blackburn, has won “many accolades and is booked well in advance”.
The application has been lodged by Gemma Blackburn on behalf of the business.
The new restaurant will operate as a “tapas” or “small plates” restaurant – offering Cumbrian-sourced ingredients cooked imaginatively to showcase the
food heritage of the county and Lake District, according to the applicants.
The new restaurant aims to house a new bar with counter seating 12 people, alongside window counters seating a further 10 people.
There will be an open kitchen area and a drinks bar, along with wine fridges, a wash-up area, and a new accessible WC for customers.
The Grade II listed property features a black plaque on the wall above the shop indicating that it was once the office of William Wordsworth when he was a dealer in stamps. The national park authority will make a decision at a later date.
