Former Hull department store reopens after two years

The former department store closed in 2019 after House of Fraser went into administration

An empty department store has reopened after a multimillion-pound redevelopment lasting more than two years.

Hammonds of Hull is located in the former House of Fraser shop which closed in 2019 after the company went into administration.

The new ground floor food hall has created over 200 local jobs and features cafes and bars as well as stalls selling local produce.

Other floors are now being refurbished.

Jeremy Seymour from the company behind the revamped store said he wanted it to become a "cultural destination."

"This is only the start for us here in the city, we need to find our feet, create more partnerships and we'll continue to develop our offer and expand into other parts of the building," he said.

"We're hoping to bring in a thousand people to the building every single day and make it a real destination for the city."

One of the first shoppers through the door was a woman who said she had happy memories as a child of her father working in the original basement food hall.

She described the revamped food hall as "really good"

"It's the amount of choice," she said.

"Instead of going to one shop there is quite a lot of stuff that I would come and get. So I think maybe once a week I'd come."

Stalls and cafes feature local food and drink

As well as food outlets, the 30,000 sq ft (2,790 sq m) space is also home to a vinyl record shop, with plans for a recording studio in the basement from next year.

Upper storeys will be converted into office space, with one floor already in use as a call centre for mobile operator Vodafone.

The five-storey building opposite the city's railway station was built in 1952 after the original store was destroyed in a German air raid in 1941.

The Hammond's business can trace its origins back to 1821 when Carl Hammond opened a drapery shop on Hull's old North Bridge.