The new owners of a renowned Lake District hotel are committed to preserving its magic while delicately modernising the business.
John Butterfield, of Keswick, managing director of Fellpack Limited, said the acquisition of the Lyzzick Hall Hotel and Restaurant, was an extremely exciting moment in the continued growth of their business, which now employs 150 staff.
John, 41, said: “Lyzzick is a wonderful property and is held in such high esteem by its clientele.
“So much love has been poured into the property over the past 40 years by the Fernandez family. Our aim is to preserve its magic, while continuing to ensure Lyzzick remains a successful, independent Keswick business.”
The Victorian property, which is three miles from Keswick, is renowned for giving visitors a lovely country house experience, and there are no plans to change that ethos, said John.
The aim was build on the heritage of Lyzzick and take it forward, he added.
The building was bought in 1986 by the late Alfredo Fernandez and his wife Dorothy and converted into a hotel.
John said: “It is an honour to continue the legacy the Fernandez family have created. “People loved Alfredo, they loved Dorothy, and in more recent times, after Alfredo passed away, his son-in-law David Lake has run the property with care and devotion.
“From scratch, that family has built something very special, and it is our commitment to them to ensure that the heritage of Lyzzick that they have built will continue.
“While customers may notice the changes that our tenure in the property brings, how Lyzzick Hall makes customers feel shouldn’t change,” said John, who has strong Keswick roots.
His late grandfather Bill Creighton, who died in June, aged 91, moved to Keswick in his early 20s and he had a number of businesses in the town.
A stonemason by trade, he was a pioneering man who lived a long and adventurous life. John’s mum, Katharine, who was born in Keswick and for many years ran the opticians in Southey Street before moving to ministry in 2018.
John attended Lancaster Grammar School before completing his secondary school education in the sixth form at Penrith Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. He then read maths at the University of Oxford before going on to work in finance and education prior to co-founding Fellpack with his friend Chris Gill.
Fellpack Limited started life in 2017 with the opening of the first Fellpack restaurant at 19 Lake Road.
After the opening of Keswick’s Main Street-based destination burger restaurant, The Round, in 2019, the Fellpack restaurant was moved to 34 Lake Road, which was the old Morrels site, in 2021.
The following year, the former Hazeldene guest house, on The Heads, was converted into the 11-bed Fellpack House.
A total of 25 staff have been inherited with the addition of Lyzzick, which takes the total number of employees across all four sites, to 150.
Executive chef Paul Sanchez, who has been with the Fellpack business from the start, will remain as the executive chef over all four businesses and is very much looking forward to working with Ian Mackay, the excellent head chef who has been at Lyzzick for 15 years.
“The team we have inherited at Lyzzick is full of talent. We are two weeks in and we can see how the skill in the Lyzzick team can successfully be merged into the wider Fellpack ethos,” said John.
“The only way the business can grow is from the hard work of the team and we are extremely fortunate to have amazing people across our whole business. We are colleagues, but also friends, and we can look at each other knowing how to execute the extremely difficult skill of delivering modern hospitality in the right way.
“Financial success is not how we define success. Instead we have to create something that has purpose and matters.
“Alongside many other great local businesses, we represent Keswick for locals and tourists and this is our special corner of the world. Doing something well, which we are proud of, is all that matters. We look forward to demonstrating this mantra at Lyzzick.”
