The Pitt in Leith used to be a good place to hang out at the weekends until it closed – and the good news is that it will be back soon – literally bigger, and better than ever.
The street food market has moved. It will now be sited at a new bigger location in Granton and will open its doors on 6 December. According to the organisers it will become a local hub with retail and market units as well as spaces for community groups and families – and the permanent street food market. And there will be coffee.
Groups such as the Granton Community Garden and Granton Castle Walled Garden are all part of the new look Pitt. This is another significant step in the regeneration of the north of Edinburgh.
The Pitt will be on West Shore Road in a warehouse which was formerly empty and has views over the Forth from the Granton prom. At first the community hub will be open Thursday to Sunday form 8am to 10pm.
At the opening there will be a night of music curated by Dara Dubh and Granton Youth. Click on the image below to buy tickets.
The venture is led by Granton Project CIC and is a £500,000 investment in the area which is planned to bring economic opportunity to the fastest growing area of the city. Funding from Firstport and Foundation Scotland enabled the transformation of the 15,000 sq ft space, as well as a successful crowdfunding campaign further supporting the development.
Hal Prescott, Chief Executive of The Pitt said “The Pitt, Granton has been two years in the making so I could not be more delighted to be announcing our official opening date. The new Pitt has all the core ingredients from the original Pitt but is supercharged with a significant event space, family areas, a coworking space, two permanent saunas and of course this fantastic location on the Granton prom. We’re a very small team working to make a big difference to north Edinburgh and the support we’ve had financially and as advisors from Firstport and Foundation Scotland has been invaluable to us, The Pitt simply wouldn’t be reopening without them.”
Ali Kennedy, Social Investment Executive with Foundation Scotland, said “This project will have a massive impact on the local surrounding communities, and the ambition of Hal and the Granton Project CIC team is to be commended. We’re very impressed by all the activity and collaborations emerging to date, and are confident that our investment will support even more impact, more local aspiration, and the creation of even more pathways into the hospitality sector. Our blend of grant and loan investment offers flexibility for innovative projects like this, and we know that the team will deliver a unique and thriving community project for Granton and beyond.”
Daisy Ford-Downes, Head of Group Investment Programmes at Firstport, said: “Hal and his team have been working tirelessly to get to this point, so we are delighted that The Pitt is finally ready to open its doors to customers. The Catalyst Fund, with its patient and flexible repayment model, was designed to support projects just like this- innovative, ambitious, collaborative, and with the potential to make a positive impact in the community. The Pitt in Granton, with a brand new venue, amazing trader line up and strong partnerships, is well placed to become not just a foodie’s destination, but also a thriving hub for enterprise development and community action.”
Andrew Barnett from Barney’s said, “We’ve been a trading partner with The Pitt since its original opening in December 2015, and always found it a great place to introduce people to new beers and collaborate with other food and drink producers. We at Barney’s Beer are all excited to re-start that trading relationship and be part of the new bigger, better Pitt at the Granton shore.”
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