A Carlisle vegan restaurant that opened only 10 days before the national lockdown has expanded so much during the last couple of years they’ve been able to open a second location.
Timmy’s Bar and Kitchen was opened in 2020 by Timmy Whitaker, and after the country was plunged into lockdown he had to diversify in order to keep the business going. Now, after turning the business into a success, he has opened Timmy’s Bar and Grill, located in Cecil Street in the city.
He told Cumbria Live he first came to open the restaurant after catering different meals for his son, who had a number of intolerances. He explained: “My son was born with allergies to eggs, dairy, nuts and sesame and it changed the way I had to cook for him as he was growing up.
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“This one day I was looking at why could he eat a chicken but not its egg because the egg will kill him. It’s the same with beef, he can eat the cow but not drink its milk because that will kill him.
“The more I looked into it the more I thought I don’t know why I’m doing this, I don’t know why I’m eating animals it just doesn’t feel right for me. So I went vegan and it wasn’t for any animal rights reasons and it wasn’t for health reasons. It was just I didn’t feel comfortable eating animals.
“It stopped being appealing to me is basically what it is. I’m very non-judgemental, my dad was a dairy farmer. I come from a farming background, I come from a meat and two veg background. I’m a Cumbrian just like everyone else. It was something I felt I wanted to do for myself and it made it easier when I was cooking for my son.”
Timmy said you’d never find him stood outside a farm with a plaque or in town showing slaughter videos – he is “not that type of vegan.” He continued: “Unfortunately the whole vegan thing is a dirty word and there is a lot of very judgemental vegans out there I would say and I would like to point out I’m not one of them.”
As Timmy went vegan and started to go out for meals he realised that lots of places didn’t cater very well for this type of diet. He felt it was almost an afterthought.
This was especially the case with a takeaway and often he’d struggle to get a treat from a takeaway. This is when he decided to open Timmy’s Bar and Kitchen on Botchergate just before the first national lockdown.
Now, after the world is getting back onto its feet, Timmy has just opened Timmy’s Bar and Grill on Cecil Street and offers a different type of food to that at the bar and kitchen.
Here at the bar and grill people can get more street food, as Timmy described it’s “a little bit of this and a little bit of that.” Opening last Thursday he’s been blown away by how quickly it’s taken off.
Timmy added: “We’ve made it much more of a street food place, those things you’d probably buy with a drink to have a nibble on. Almost like starters and sides. We don’t really do any main events at the moment.
“We’ve found all the customers we’ve had since Thursday have all really loved having a little bit of this, a little bit of that and a beer or wine or something. It’s worked really well.”
Timmy loves being able to take the pressure off those who have intolerances or allergies and being able to provide them with food where they don’t have to worry about it. He said that countless parents have thanked him because their children are able to go in and get food without worrying about their allergies.
Timmy’s Bar and Grill don’t take bookings, but all food is available for takeaways if the restaurant is full.