The 3 Acres: How couple rebuilt iconic Yorkshire restaurant after devastating Boxing Day fire
It is hard to imagine walking into the plush 3 Acres at Emley that on Boxing Day two years ago a kitchen fire caused hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage resulting in the restaurant being closed for 17 months. For the owners Tom and Lauren Truelove it was a devastating blow – coming just three years after surviving Covid and the accompanying lockdowns.
It was devastating not just because it put their livelihood and that of their many staff in jeopardy, but also because the 3 Acres had been in the Truelove family since 1968 and was a much-loved culinary West Yorkshire institution. The last two years have been a roller coaster for the couple, but they were always determined to rebuild the Three Acres and make it bigger and better than before, while maintaining its essence.
"There was never an option that we wouldn’t do it and just walk away,” says Tom.
"With more than 100 staff is wasn’t something we could even consider,” says Lauren. “We are a big employer in the area – to actually have a fire and then cease trading we would never have gone down that road.”
Although Covid had been a challenge for the Trueloves, Tom says it did in some ways give them confidence that they could not only survive, but rebuild and thrive.
“The customers came back last time and so it gave us the confidence that if we did build it back our customers would support us and return.” And they haven’t been disappointed. "The amount of support we have had has been incredible – so many messages and letters, well over 100. We knew what the Acres meant to us as a family but then you start to hear what it means to other people – that they got married here, that they met their partner here, had christening and even funerals here – many going back 50 years,” says Tom.
The actual fire didn’t leave the main body of the kitchen but it was the smoke that caused most of the devastation to the rest of the restaurant, bars and rooms.
“The kitchen had been the biggest single investment we had made as a family since 1968 and we opened that in March 2023 – nine months later and it was completely burnt out but on first inspection of the rest of the pub when the fire brigade had put the fire out I was quite optimistic,” says Tom.
"Everything was covered in soot. At first you’d think everything was okay but then you’d move a fork and you realised just how bad it was. But even then we thought as all the fire had been contained to the kitchen, we’d probably just need to rebuild the kitchen then redecorate, reupholster the chairs and change the carpets in the rest of the building and then be open for business again.” Tom couldn’t have been more wrong.
“We were naive to just how much damage smoke can cause. The insurers sent in an expert restoration consultant who just said don’t underestimate smoke damage it will have got into every cavity and he said they would need to strip it all back but even then we didn’t realise exactly what that meant.” In the end every plaster board and ceiling board had to come down and be replaced and in many places the roof had to come off as well as all soft furnishings – and every single piece of furniture.
Since then the 3 Acres has undergone a complete renovation including a redesigned 200-cover restaurant and bar, eight brand new luxury bedrooms, and a £450,000 state-of-the-art kitchen.
“Ensuring we stayed true to the essence of The 3 Acres as we designed the building for its next chapter was at the forefront of our minds throughout the project. It has organically grown over the years to be this eclectic place and we were both determined we didn’t want it to be contrived in any way, we wanted it maintain its authenticity and familiarity so when people walk in it feel like the Acres but just a little bit elevated. We have kept the same colour palette, and were determined to use the best quality materials.”
Another challenge was although everything had to replaced they were determined that nothing should look new. Tom was also determined to replicate some of the wallpaper in the restaurant.
"It was none-negotiable and was from an old pal of my dad’s Stephen Lewis from Lewis and Wood. It was a red wallpaper with business cards on it and it became quite iconic but when we enquired they had stopped making it. But they agreed to do a commission and we are really pleased with it,” says Tom.
“In the restaurant and bar, the aesthetic still feels reassuringly familiar,” adds Lauren, “but we’ve introduced beautiful new design elements that elevate the space like banquette seating for more informal dining and pre-dinner drinks, and a stunning pewter bar top that defines the Oyster Bar.”
Despite the mammoth task in front of them the ever optimistic Trueloves, who also have two young children, took the opportunity to completely reconfigure the upstairs to bring the bedrooms in line with the quality of the restaurant, but that meant two separate teams on site at the same time.
"My father always used to say we are restaurant and we do have rooms but some were small single rooms and really didn’t reflect the rest of what we have here,” says Tom. “When we realised that we were going to have to close for at least 12 months we decided that we would never get a better opportunity to fully renovate the upstairs and knock through the small rooms, move a corridor to give all them all the amazing view that we have here.”
“As a couple of I think we look for the silver lining in everything,” continues Lauren. “Once we, and particularly Tom, got over the initial shock and devastation, we decided we could either see it as a negative or try to turn it into a positive and to make the Acres everything we had always wanted it to be.”
While the restaurant has been in the Truelove family for decades and has built up an impressive reputation for its food, the couple say it wasn’t particularly known as a place to stay. "The rooms never reflected what we did downstairs and so we never really promoted the fact we had rooms,” says Lauren. “We really didn’t have a choice we had to stay relevant and become a destination where people could come and stay.”
While the couple were very much in charge of the renovation and restoration of the downstairs areas, they did employ interior designers for the bedrooms and ensuite bathrooms and decided to completely reconfigure the upstairs.
“When it came to bedrooms I knew I didn’t have the skill set to do what I wanted to do,” says Lauren. So they employed York-based House of Joan run by two sisters, Katie and Rebecca. “We wanted upstairs to reflect downstairs with lots of antiques and bold design and plush furnishings and they were the right people to do it. It is one of the best decisions we’ve made, We need to create a ‘wow’ factor and they have done that.”
The top quality bedrooms now reflects the incredible moorland setting of the Three Acres through colour and pattern, with antique furniture sitting alongside more modern elements to give each room its own sense of character. “All the bedrooms are individual but with a theme and colour scheme running through them. We gave Katie and Rebecca a brief and they really nailed it.” And just dix months after reopening their hard work was recognised when they won Hospitality Business of the Year at the Yorkshire Post Business Awards last week.
“Food is and always will be at the beating heart of The 3 Acres but now we have bedrooms to match.”