Building firm wins award for transforming Calderdale ironmongers into a stylish bar and restaurant

Rhodes Joinery and Building Services Ltd picked up the accolade at the Federation of Master Builders’s 2023 Northern Master Builder Awards for its work on what is now Cooper Kitchen and Bar.

The building used to be ironmongers Cooper Kitchen, which dated back to the 1800s.

In an effort to revive the Elland’s high street, the builders purchased the boarded-up hardware shop themselves before converting it into a bar and restaurant.

The builders had previously opened a wholefoods shop – Roots -during the early stages of the pandemic, giving local people an easy and secure way to buy essentials.

They say this project assured them that the town’s high street could become a vibrant space for Elland residents once again, allowing local businesses to thrive – and they soon set to restoring Cooper Kitchen.

Now open to the public, the eatery still proudly showcases the building’s roots in Elland’s industrial past.

A replica of the Moorgate Dwarf Roaster No.5 Penny Farthing, produced by Cooper Kitchen in around 1885, hangs behind the street-level bar.

Elland residents have also donated objects filled with local history to the project, while the Greater Elland Historical Society has provided historical photographs now shown on TV screens around the venue.

The project even employed local artists, with painter Richard Everett executing a mural stocked with references to the town’s rich history.

Brett Rhodes, Managing Director of the firm, said: “It was absolutely amazing to find out we had won and a bit of a shock as there are so many other really good companies that we were up against.

“We have been steadily building our company up over the years, expanding very successfully into plumbing and heating, roofing and building on both a domestic and commercial basis.

“Winning this award and the recognition it brings as a member of the Federation of Master Builders is another feather in our cap so to speak as we try our best as a company to build a good relationship with all our clients and want them to know they are in safe hands with us.”