"Why I decided to give up my high flying corporate career to open a food hall near Scarborough"

After being head hunted, he ended up being a director at four companies, until the huge responsibility and workload caught up with him - causing both his health and personal life to suffer. With 4,000 staff reporting to him and a half a billion pounds budget, Adrian says he was flat out busy. Getting up at 5am and sometimes not getting home until late at night and he realised something had to chaneg. “Leaving my high-flying corporate career after 26 years to follow my dream and start a business from scratch in rural North Yorkshire was pretty huge,” he says.

"I’d been a director of four very large companies in the food manufacturing sector, and responsible for thousands of staff and multi-million-pound budgets – but it was a very lonely place. I even once collapsed at work with exhaustion, and still didn’t listen to the signs."

He was taken by ambulance to hospital and says his body simply shut down with the stress.

“I was away from home a lot and I lost sight of what was important. Then unfortunately my marriage failed. This gave me the kick I needed to get out of that world and put my children first. I left my job. And then I thought, ‘what am I going to do now?’”

Wanting to spend more time with his two young sons Adrian decided to follow his dream and use his business knowledge to set up a local, premium food hall in the area where he grew up.

And when he spotted that the garage on Main Street in the village of Seamer was vacant, it presented the perfect opportunity. Adrian invested his life savings in totally refitting the building, and in November 2024, Wilson’s Food Hall opened its doors for the first time.

“I wanted it to feel less like a café, and more like somewhere you’d want to spend time and socialise,” explains Adrian.

“And we’ve achieved that. Customers can enjoy a relaxing coffee, breakfast, brunch or lunch. They can pull up a bar stool and work or have meetings. Or they can bring in their kids for an ice cream and milkshake. I’m really proud of what we’ve created - Wilson’s is unique in the area.” The food hall has been a huge success - double what Adrian says he budgeted for.

He says: "I have had lots of local support. It has become a go to destination.

"A lot of pensioners go to garden centres and young ones go to McDonalds and cafes but this gives them somewhere trendy to go to.

"I dim the lights, we have Piano Sunday, saxophones and a singer. It can be a full day event - sharing a charcuterie board, enjoying entertainment."

He may be the boss, but Adrian says he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty - mucking in with everyone whether it's washing pots or serving customers.

"I don't feel like I am working, I feel like I am mucking in with everyone else. We all swap around, take turns and I have taken to it like a duck to water." Adrian is passionate about working with local suppliers to source the best-quality ingredients, using a local bread maker, local butcher - even the pasta is made locally.

He says: "We keep it as local as we can.

“Our artisan coffee is roasted in-house by a local family business, Forge Valley Roasters,” he explains.

“We source a fantastic range of artisanal products and locally-crafted goods for our shop. All our wine is expertly selected from small independent vineyards. You won’t find them in supermarkets - and you can choose to enjoy a glass here or take a bottle home.”

Artisan breads, pastries and cakes are baked daily at the in-house Willow Bakery.

And there’s ice cream sourced from award-winning gelato-maker Groovy Moo in Malton.

Chef Luke Stephenson is the latest addition to the team.

Originally from Scarborough, Luke has used his experience of rosette-standard dining and a knowledge of Saudi Arabian flavours from working on a luxury yacht to transform Wilson’s menu. Meanwhile, Adrian has future plans to expand the business by launching a second Wilson’s.

Adrian adds: “Getting out of the rat race and back to a slightly slower way of life didn’t take me as long as I thought it would. I’ve seen my sons compete at their school sports days and attended parents’ evenings. I’m running my own successful business doing something I love, and getting to look after and play with my children. That’s what’s important.” Sons Charlie, 11 and Flinton, nine, often join the staff, who Adrian says are all from different backgrounds, and help out. Flinton bakes bread buns and pot washes - Charlie has positioned himself as a food taster, with milk shakes being his favourite. Adrian says he would advise anyone that it is never too late to change careers and to adopt a different and better standard of living.

Thankful to have left his corporate career behind, and loving every minute of his new venture, he adds: "It feels like going back to nature."

wilsonsfoodhall.co.uk