The final touches are being made to the refurbishment of the Albert Road site formerly occupied by popular sandwich shop Goodbody’s.
The new business will offer breakfast, starters, brunch and children’s options as well as a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
TigerIvy was granted a restaurant licence by Middlesbrough Council’s licensing committee, allowing it to serve alcohol until 10.30pm.
A late licence was initially sought but the proposal attracted concerns about noise from people living in the six flats above the premises.
A noise consultant deemed that, without the installation of an acoustic ceiling, the proposal to operate as a late bar would have caused a nuisance to those tenants. The committee agreed to approve a restaurant licence but the business must stop serving alcohol at 10.30pm and close at 11pm.
Co-owners Lindsey Stephenson and Amy Cowans are now looking forward to opening the venue, just in time for the busy Christmas period, albeit with earlier closing times than initially planned. “It’s primarily a restaurant, there’s no dance floor or anything, but we are looking to have nice cocktails on offer as well as premium lagers and spirits,” explained Amy.
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“We set out to be a cocktail bar initially but we had to adapt our business model. There were concerns about noise from neighbours and that’s fine – the last thing we would want is to be a burden to them.”
One of the objectors noted there are several bars along Albert Road but added: “None of these other bars have people living above them.” Another said noise levels would have “a serious negative impact on our wellbeing”.
Amy said in the future, they may revisit their plans to apply for a late night licence after looking at potential solutions to address noise concerns. The focus now, she said, is to get the business up and running.
