The Echo of York opened its doors in Newgate on Friday (May 2) and hopes to take visitors back to a bustling 1930s newspaper office.
Founded by Sheffield based business owners Luke Horton, Viv Williams, and James McKennan, the shop came about through their shared love of York, Yorkshire heritage, and desire to create something ‘truly unique’.
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Luke said: “We’re all from Sheffield but we wanted to open here in York because it’s our favourite city.
“We persevered for about a year with finding a unit before we came across this – it used to be the old Timpson’s shop, but it didn’t to look like this. It’s actually Grade 2 listed, so we designed the shop and décor around that.”
The shop, while primarily a gift shop, is themed around a 1930s newspaper office with inspiration taken from a vintage typewriter, which sits pride and place in the middle of the store.
Luke added: “The idea was actually Viv’s – she really wanted to have her own paper and it all kind of developed into this theme.
“It’s also a really cool step back in time – we play 1930s jazz to set the mood in here.”
The shop stocks a range of products and gifts from primarily Yorkshire based producers – including art from Luke’s own business and candles from James’ – with their newspaper saying that they want the shop to be ‘loved by locals and discovered by tourists’.
They also worked together with Bullion Chocolate, the Prohibition Company – who produce speciality cocktails, and Sheffield based Triple Point Brewery to make products which are exclusive to the shop.
The vintage typewriter in Echo of York (Image: Alice Kavanagh) In addition to the retail side, they also plan to produce an actual bi-monthly newspaper with their first edition featuring a maker’s spotlight, puzzles page, coupons for the shop, and the story behind their opening.
Echo of York will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday from 10am to 4pm and on bank holidays.
