Plans revealed for restaurant reopening which hopes to bring something ‘Northampton has never seen before’

With a restaurant reopening on the outskirts of the town centre at the start of March, the team is hoping they will provide “something Northampton has never seen before”.

Following the closure of Mediterranean restaurant Chilli Village in Wellingborough Road on January 29, its sister restaurant is opening its doors to the public once again.

Chilli Village was also home to the UK’s biggest vegan restaurant Green Loft, which subsequently had to shut.

Medieval Fort, in Racecourse Pavilion, Kettering Road, temporarily closed as when Chilli Village was opened in December 2016 “all the time and attention went into that”.

Marcus Hemming, the former manager of Chilli Village and now manager of Medieval Fort, said: “The financial struggle of getting Chilli Village off the ground left Medieval Fort’s beautiful building empty – and now is the right time to restore it to its former glory.”

The grand launch will take place during the first week of March, though the exact date is yet to be set in stone.

“We want to offer something that has never been seen in Northampton before,” said Marcus. “The new menu will be second to none and is being developed from what was offered at Chilli Village.”

Medieval Fort will keep its former theme but “with some twists” – with customers told to expect big steaks, party meals and sharing boards, as well as more vegan and vegetarian options as they recognise the needs of their Green Loft customer base.

Marcus said: “There will be big hearty steaks and vast fish options, including carp and pike like the olden days.

“We’re all about hearty, traditional food and there is an emphasis on sharing. Boards will be available for groups as large as 10 to share.”

This is an “exciting time” and fresh start for Medieval Fort, following the end of nine years of passion that went into Chilli Village that left the owner “heartbroken”.

Taking to social media, Marcus revealed it was “the current economic distress” that caused the Wellingborough Road venue to close.

The statement read: “Due to the current economic distress facing all of us recently, in particular the hospitality trade, and with other unavoidable factors, it is with an extremely heavy heart that as of 11pm on Sunday January 29 2023 we closed our doors for the final time.”

As the team knows there were many loyal customers to Chilli Village and Green Loft, they are evaluating what people enjoyed most from those menus and developing a new selection ready for the grand launch.

“We want to give something back to Northampton,” said Marcus. “With the decor, and time and effort we’re putting into this venue, we want to become the go-to place in the town.”

The Medieval Fort team hopes the restaurant will become a destination venue people will travel to, as they believe they are in a good location with ideal parking facilities.

They hope the return of the Balloon Festival this summer will boost business and they want to see the Racecourse “alive again”.