- J.K. Rowling’s iconic Elephant House café in Edinburgh to reopen
- Fire damage and liquidation caused delays
- Café owner anticipates 2024 reopening
J.K. Rowling is set to reopen the Edinburgh café where she wrote parts of the Harry Potter series, three years after a devastating fire.
Several buildings, including the Elephant House café, suffered severe damage in an August 2021 fire on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh.
The reopening of the building has been delayed due to the liquidation of the café’s owner.
Café owner David Taylor expects to reopen by the summer of 2024 after securing the central Edinburgh block’s structure. Renovations costing approximately £1 million will commence shortly after.
“I am experiencing unfathomable relief,” said Mr. Taylor, expressing optimism for a late spring or early summer reopening.
The café, with its iconic view of Victoria Street (inspiration for J.K. Rowling’s Diagon Alley), recently opened at a new location. A fire-damaged table used by Rowling has been recovered and refurbished.
Upon reopening next year, the table will return to its original location on George IV Bridge.
In collaboration with Andrew McRae, owner of the Museum Context retail chain specializing in Harry Potter merchandise, Mr. Taylor has established The Elephant Cafe International franchise. A franchise will open in Manila in February.
The City of Edinburgh Council has installed temporary metal scaffolding to support the café’s ceiling. The fire is believed to have originated in the Patisserie Valerie café, located below The Elephant House.
Patisserie Valerie is not expected to reopen on the premises.
Rowling frequented The Elephant House in the mid-1990s while writing the tales of the boy wizard.
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