Birthday celebration as elderly icon looks forward to future

Anthony Flinn opened his restaurant in 2008

Age has not wearied the Corn Exchange.

The Grade I-listed building in the centre of Leeds has endured numerous testing chapters in its history, but as it celebrates its 150th anniversary, the building has proved resilient in the face of the city’s modernisation.

Its circular design and distinctive domed roof makes it one of a kind and in fact, it is one of just three remaining Corn Exchanges still being used as a centre for trade the UK.

Opening for business back in 1864, it was a bustling centre for the exchange and sale of corn wheat, barley, hops, peas, beans, seeds, oil cake and flour and a farmers market and regular leather fair were held there.

But following a decline in agricultural industries, the building deteriorated and for a while looked set to become something of a white elephant. However, in 1985, Speciality Shops plc won the contract to transform the Corn Exchange into a retail destination.

Fortunes for individual retailers have been mixed over the intervening decades, but the move did preserve an important slice of the city’s history and for many the Corn Exchange was always more than bricks and mortar.

Gina Tombs is the owner of one of the longest running shops in the Corn Exchange – Outrage Jewellery. She set up the family-run business with her late husband David in 1990 after moving back to the UK from Kenya.

The couple had been involved in a crafts project with disabled people and upon their return, started importing their stock. Now the shop sells a range of hand-made rings, pendants and bracelets and features specially-sourced pieces from local designers.

“The Corn Exchange is Leeds’s heritage,” says Gina. “The atmosphere here is completely different to shopping centres. It’s a serene, stately, statuesque Victorian building. There are a lot of young entrepreneurs starting businesses in here and they need to be supported. We need to support our home-grown independent and creative people.”

Despite moving out when there were plans to turn the Corn Exchange into a food emporium in 2008, Gina returned to the site the following year after more money was invested in the building’s restoration and is confident it can weather the arrival of the new Trinity development just a minute’s walk away. “Trinity is definitely a positive addition to the city. That area needed re-doing and it looks great,” she says. “Time will tell if it will have an impact on the Corn Exchange, but we hope to be in here for a long time to come.”

By far the largest unit in the 150-year-old building is award-winning eatery Anthony’s. The flagship fine dining restaurant Piazza by Anthony opened in 2008 and the business run by father and son team Anthony Flinn senior and Anthony Flinn junior, has won several impressive accolades over the years, putting Leeds on the culinary map.

“It’s Leeds’ most historic building and we saw it as a great opportunity,” says Anthony senior. At the start of April, Anthony’s relocated its Boar Lane restaurant and staff to work alongside the same site in the Corn Exchange. “We obviously felt the hit of the recession but didn’t intend to stay at the Boar Lane site for ever and saw a good opportunity to amalgamate the two restaurants under one roof.

“Anthony junior is on site all of the time which makes things less fragmented.”

While the last few years have been difficult for independent businesses, those that have managed to survive the recession may well prove that old adage, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

The latest shop to open its doors in the building is the Bead Hive, which opened in March. Starting out as a humble market stall on the streets of York in 2005, it is now one of the UK’s leading independent retailers, suppliers and importers of crafted beads and costume jewellery-making accessories.

Marti Dix, owner, said: “There  is such a vast amount of crafters and beaders in Leeds and we wanted to be a part of that. It’s incredible and has got such a lovely feel to it. All the  neighbours stick together and help each other out.”

The Corn Exchange celebrates its 150th birthday on July 28 and  to mark the occasion, the venue will play host to a series of celebrations and events that  will give a nod to its past, present and future.

For details about upcoming events, go to www.leedscornexchange.co.uk.