BLACKBURN Cathedral’s new ‘Cafe Northcote’ will open for business next month and then mark its presence with a ‘Right Royal’ lunch.

The Cafe in the Crypt closed on Friday and the swish new eaterie in the Church of England complex’s new £8.5million suite of clergy accommodation is due to open on Wednesday, June 8.

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Four days later the cafe/restaurant will host a special lunch to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday, The lunch, on Sunday, June 12, will follow the celebration service in the cathedral which will be attended by county and civic dignitaries.

Northcote’s celebrity chef Nigel Haworth and business partner Craig Bancroft are behind the venture which forms part of the new £34m Cathedral Quarter development including public gardens and squares, an office block and 60-bed Premier Inn hotel.

The 78-cover café in the new cathedral building facing into Cathedral Square is creating 15 jobs, along with two apprentice posts, recruited locally.

Michelin-starred Mr Haworth said: “We are delighted to finally be working in partnership with Lancashire’s cathedral to create a new and vibrant café concept, championing local produce and Blackburn’s heritage.

“We look forward to new, exciting times expanding the Northcote brand into Blackburn and being part of bringing this incredible Cathedral Quarter development to life.”

The eaterie will be the jewel in the crown of Cathedral Court, where accommodation is being provided for cathedral staff in what is the first new complete set of cathedral domestic buildings to be built for 600 years.

The licensed bistro-style Cafe Northcote will initially open from early morning to late afternoon.

It will operate as a restaurant in the evenings during December, over Christmas and new year and at other special times.

Northcote recently won the UK’s Best Restaurant Outside London in the Food and Travel Reader Awards and also Lancashire Life’s Hotel Restaurant of the Year.

Its luxury hotel and restaurant at Langho attracts thousands of visitors from across the UK to the outskirts of Blackburn every year.

Its new venture includes a work placement and training partnership with Blackburn College.

Mr Haworth is creating a special menu for Cafe Northcote offering coffee, sandwiches and food ‘to-go’, breakfast, ‘Afternoon Tea’ and ‘Sunday Lunch’, fresh breads, sweet treats, pastas, salads and platters including Lancashire specialities such as Eccles Cakes and Black Pudding.