Bettys & Taylors - Cakes, Chocolates and tea & coffee

 Where Switzerland Meets Yorkshire

After losing his parents at an early age, Frederick Belmont spent his teens in apprenticeships for all manner of bakers and confectioners across Europe. By the time he arrived in England his head was filled with knowledge of their craft – and dreams of his future.
In London, Frederick discovered he had lost the address he was travelling to. All he could remember was that the town sounded like ‘Bratwurst’. Through sheer luck he found himself on a train to Bradford.
Fortunately the beautiful countryside and sweet clear air reminded him of his native Switzerland – so much so, that he decided to stay. In 1919 he opened his first Bettys Café Tea Rooms in the fashionable spa town of Harrogate. The combination of mouth-watering Swiss confectionery and Yorkshire warmth and hospitality in such an elegant setting proved irresistible. Bettys was an instant success and was soon able to boast of ‘Royal and Distinguished Patronage’ on its letterhead.
In the 1920s Frederick opened a Craft Bakery in Harrogate, complete with its own orchard. Thanks to the new Bakery, Frederick was able to open Bettys branches in other Yorkshire towns including a flagship café in York, inspired by the magnificent Queen Mary Cruise liner. His York tea room became particularly popular during the war years when the basement ‘Bettys Bar’ became the favourite destination of the hundreds of American and Canadian ‘Bomber Boys’ stationed around York. ‘Bettys Mirror’, on which many of them engraved their signatures with a diamond pen, remains on display at the branch today.
In the 1960s Bettys joined forces with another Yorkshire business, family tea and coffee merchants, Taylors of Harrogate.
 
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