Hammonds of Hull: Upmarket Yorkshire food hall which closed suddenly set to become bowling alley and games bar

Bowling bar company Lane 7 has lodged an application to licence the vacant space in the former food hall for selling alcohol.

Approval would then pave the way for bowling alleys in the ground floor of the former department store which has stood empty since March.

It comes after Hammonds of Hull operator Artisan Food Hall HoH Ltd announced the venue was closing for good amid a legal dispute with the owners of the building.

The space has been vacant ever since with advertisements obscuring the windows looking into the stripped away interior which once hosted wine sellers, a deli and other concessions.

Commercial landlords Garness Jones put a notice on the building inviting potential tenants to come forward to reinvent the space.

Lane 7’s application signals that the space could be about to move onto its next chapter.

The company has venues in Manchester, Sheffield, Durham, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leicester, Aberdeen, Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Bath and Cardiff with plans for three more elsewhere.

Venues elsewhere offer packages for food and drinks and bowling, beer pong, mini golf and feature dart boards and pool and ping pong tables, according to its website.

Its website states that the venues are for adults only after 7pm and IDs are required for entry.

The company has applied for a licence to sell alcohol in the former Hammonds of Hull space from 10am to 1am, Monday to Sunday, also its opening hours.

The application is open for comments until Tuesday, November 28.

Hammonds of Hull operator Artisan said at the time it closed the departure was hugely disappointing and hailed it as a success story which employed more than 150 people.

It was hailed as a welcome reinvention of what was then the ground floor of an empty House of Fraser which closed in 2018.

A company spokesperson said: “It had more than 300 wines, the deli counter, the vinyl bar and live music by talented local artists.

“Internally we supported local artists who painted the walls and provided an environment focused on Hull and the history surrounding Yorkshire.

“It’s hugely disappointing, a huge loss to the community, visitors to Hull, the public and our suppliers in Yorkshire, the loss of jobs, salaries gone, and millions of pounds invested.”

But its viability was being questioned as early as summer 2022, just months after it opened to much fanfare the previous December.

The departure of several concessions, dwindling footfalll dogged the food hall and attempts to reinvent it with a relaunch and World Cup Fanzone were unable to reverse its decline.