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Where the Dales meet the Alps
At the turn of the century a young Swiss Confectioner, Frederick Belmont, left his native Alps and travelled to England inspired by the dream of building his own business. Frederick originally planned to head towards the resorts of the south coast but, unable to speak a word of English and confused by the bustle of a busy London station, he boarded the wrong train and several hours later, much to his initial dismay, he found himself in the depths of Yorkshire. Fortunately the beautiful countryside and sweet clear air reminded him of his native Switzerland – so much so, that he decided to stay. In 1919 he opened his first Bettys Café Tea Rooms in the fashionable spa town of Harrogate. The combination of mouth-watering Swiss confectionery and Yorkshire warmth and hospitality in such an elegant setting proved irresistible. Bettys was an instant success and was soon able to boast of ‘Royal and Distinguished Patronage’ on its letterhead. In the 1920s Frederick opened a Craft Bakery in Harrogate, complete with its own orchard. Thanks to the new Bakery, Frederick was able to open Bettys branches in other Yorkshire towns including a flagship café in York, inspired by the magnificent Queen Mary Cruise liner. His York tea room became particularly popular during the war years when the basement ‘Bettys Bar’ became the favourite destination of the hundreds of American and Canadian ‘Bomber Boys’ stationed around York. ‘Bettys Mirror’, on which many of them engraved their signatures with a diamond pen, remains on display at the branch today. In the 1960s Bettys joined forces with another Yorkshire business, family tea and coffee merchants, Taylors of Harrogate |
