'Quirky’ hotel and café bar plans amid Coney Street revamp

The four-storey Spurriergate building that, until last year, housed Beaverbrooks has been bought by Vincent Roberts and Camelia Andrei who hope to give it a new lease of life once plans by the Helmsley Group to redevelop Coney Street get underway.

The building in Spurriergate as it currently is (Image: Dylan Connell) Under the plans that were approved by the council last week, the building that houses Boots next door would be knocked down so a new street can be built to the riverside.

This would mean that the currently shuttered building would be on the corner of this street heading down to the Ouse.

How Waterloo Place could look with the Spurriergate property on the right hand corner (Image: Supplied) Vincent and Camelia, who run the spooky themed Hocus Pocus Tiny Hotel together in Patrick Pool, saw the Grade II listed property last year and had been following the Helmsley Group’s plans, aware of the potential for the building should the development go ahead.

“We completed the purchase the same day as the plans going through,” Vincent told The Press.

The property developer, who also owns another bar in York, described the building as “lovely”, saying it would be perfect for a themed hotel with a café bar area on the ground floor.

“It’s very quirky, it’s very different,” the 43-year-old said. “It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.”

Camelia Andrei and Vincent Roberts at the spooky themed Hocus Pocus Tiny Hotel in Patrick Pool (Image: Hocus Pocus Tiny Hotel) The building is “quite narrow”, he said, but this means it lends itself to the quirky vision he has for it.

Vincent was unable to share the exact details of what will be on the ground floor as it is still being planned.

But Camelia told The Press: “It’s not going to be just another café; it will be something everyone will want to step in once in their life.”

Coney Street as it currently is, with the former Beaverbrooks building on the left in Spurriergate (Image: Dylan Connell) The 51-year-old single mother of two added: “We know that this will be a unique place to visit in York, with the cherry on top on the ground floor.”

Vincent said they want to work with the Helmsley Group to develop their vision, adding: “I think what the Helmsley Group is doing is fantastic.

“I’ve lived in York all my life and it’s never been connected to the river.”

'No rush' to restore building and 'bring it back to life', says new owner

He admitted that “there’s no rush” to develop the building given that the Helmsley Group has previously said work will not start until 2026.

In the meantime, Vincent said, the ground floor of the property will be rented out to a tenant for commercial use.

Boots which would be knocked down under the Helmsley Group's plans to create a new street to the riverside (Image: Dylan Connell) “We aim to work on the lovely Grade II listed building, restore it and bring it back to life,” he added.

Vincent would not say how much they paid for the property but it was previously on the market for £500,000, later being reduced to £450,000.

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He and Camelia met in 2019 and opened the Hocus Pocus Tiny Hotel in 2022.

Camelia said Vincent would stop at Krusties in Patrick Pool, which she owned, for a baked potato “and the rest is history”.

“We are a great team together – what he’s doing I’m not doing and vice versa.”

Vincent Roberts and Camelia Andrei outside Hocus Pocus Tiny Hotel in Patrick Pool (Image: Newsquest) Camelia, originally from Romania, described herself as the hotelier, explaining that she has managed hotels in Italy, where she also studied.

“I’ve always been intrigued by hotels; design is one of my passions.”

Vincent, meanwhile, is the “expert in developing quirky properties”, she said.