New burger and steak eatery Firehouse No 1 opens in Morpeth, Northumberland

A new meat and steak ‘street food cafe’ has opened in Morpeth town centre.
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Fire House No 1 is owned by Gary Harland, 48, and is based in Newgate Street.

It is a dream come true for Mr Harland, who has been thinking about opening his own food business for some time. He currently works overseas in the oil and gas industry, but is only away for weeks at a time and trained as a butcher when he was younger.

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He said: “This is something I’ve been preparing and planning for the last seven years.

Fire House No 1 is in Newgate Street, Morpeth.Fire House No 1 is in Newgate Street, Morpeth.
Fire House No 1 is in Newgate Street, Morpeth.

"I’ve been purchasing stuff over that time, and just getting things together, learning more about business.”

Mr Harland, who lives at North Farm in Pegswood, said the idea of running his own restaurant came about while he worked as a butcher.

He added: “It’s hard, it’s very hard work, making sure you’ve got everything right, are following all the food hygiene regulations and standards and keeping it right.

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"The council have been great and we’ve been speaking to them every day, one-to-one. They’ve been setting a lot of guidelines and we’ve followed the whole lot.

"I think is Morpeth is missing a street food scene.

"I’m always down at Camden in London and places like that and I’m used to seeing it, but Morpeth hasn’t got it.

"I therefore thought, ‘let’s find the right premises’, and that’s what we have done.”

Fire House No 1 serves steaks, burgers, toasties, fries and breakfasts, as well as a range of hot and cold drinks.