Former Nutters restaurant site set to reopen under Albert's restaurant group 

The former home of Nutters restaurant in Rochdale is to reopen as the fifth Albert’s restaurant in the northwest, if planning permission is approved.

Chef Andrew Nutter’s restaurant at Wolstenholme Hall closed in 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the site remaining empty since.

The gothic-style, 19^th Century building was bought by Elle R Leisure, which operates four Albert’s Restaurants in Manchester, Standish, Worsley and Didsbury.

It has applied to Rochdale Council for permission to reconfigure the ground floor of the building to create a 180-cover restaurant with 40-cover private dining room and two function rooms accommodating 80 and 150 people respectively.

The first Albert’s Restaurant was launched in 2004 aiming to “deliver quality food to local customers at a reasonable price in a sharp, modern space with friendly, unpretentious service”.

The family-owned business plans to operate a restaurant and host events, including weddings, at the site, which is set in six-and-a-half acres of land.

Andrew Nutter had taken on the site in 2003, after 10 years operating from a smaller pub venue between Norden and Edenfield.

When he closed it in 2021 he said: “It has been a difficult decision to make but these last two years have been extremely challenging when the hospitality industry as a whole had suffered immensely. We wanted to go out whilst we are still at the top of our game and it had been increasingly difficult to do that in these times.”

Nutter continues to operate the Bird at Birtle in Lancashire, which he took over in 2014.