A popular Knaresborough café has been put up for sale after almost eight years in business, its owner has announced.
Number Thirteen, an independent coffee shop on Castlegate, will continue to operate as normal while a buyer is sought.
And owner Sarah Ward, who opened the business in January 2018, has stressed that it is not closing.
In a message to customers, she described the decision as difficult but necessary.
She said:
“It’s just that after almost nine years, I think the time is right for me to hand it over to someone else.
“Unlike when we closed the doors on Silver Street, this announcement is said with a smile, albeit a sad one.”
Number Thirteen first opened in 2018 and has since become a well-known fixture in the town’s café scene.
Over the past two years it has won sustainability awards and was voted Knaresborough’s Favourite Coffee Shop for four consecutive years.
Sarah said the business itself is performing well, but the pressures of running it have taken their toll:
“The thing is – the coffee shop is doing well. Even in such a turbulent time for hospitality businesses, we seem to be ticking along nicely, but I have hit a ceiling personally that ultimately, I can’t and don’t want to break through.”
She added:
“I always said that I would only stop having my own business when I didn’t enjoy it anymore, and I’m not enjoying it.
"I need to get the joy back.”
A second branch on Silver Street closed after six months in 2023, a move Sarah previously described as the hardest decision she had made in business.
However, she said this latest announcement feels different:
“I honestly think that the coffee shop has a great future.
“It has cemented itself as part of the Knaresborough café-scape and local community and for a new owner, there is so much potential.”
Alongside the sale, Sarah revealed plans to launch a new wholesale baking venture, supplying gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan-friendly cakes and bakes to local cafés, delis and farm shops.
She is also considering a small postal service and a possible “bake shed”.
For now, customers can expect business as usual at Number Thirteen, with the same staff, service and menu remaining in place during the sales process.
The café has been listed for sale by Alan J Picken and can be found here.
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