The Record Café celebrates five years on North Parade

The Record Café has made it to half a decade in its humble spot on North Parade, despite the struggles of others in the city and industry.

In that time, it has become an integral part of the city's makeup winning several prestigious awards over the years, including Bradford CAMRA's Pub of the Year twice.

Owner, Keith Wildman, even says he has customers come from all over the country to visit his niche, unique take on a bar.

Over the birthday weekend, Hebden Bridge's finest purveyors of quality apparel - HebTroCo - were selling limited edition “vinyl, ale and ham” socks all weekend.

This perfectly encompasses what The Record Café is about.

A place where you can sit and have a pint, eat good meat and buy a record at the end of it all.

Still, a lot has changed in five years.

But Mr Wildman revealed there was no initial intention for The Record Café to be a bar.

He said: "It’s a strange feeling. Not least as it was never really meant to be too much of a bar.

"The original idea was a record shop with a bottle fridge. But I love cask beer, so decided it needed that.

"Then thought, well I can’t not have keg, so added that.

"Then the layout of the building that I found, and going with the flow a bit dictated that it become a lot more of a bar than I anticipated."

The weekend-long party, from Friday to Sunday, showcased some of the bar’s favourite people and breweries from over the past five years.

There were four cask beers brewed especially for the occasion by Wishbone, Northern Monk, Saltaire and Wilde Childe.

It was music galore as well, with a variety of artists playing at the bar across the weekend.

This included Liverpool's Nick Ellis, DJ Jeff O'Toole and a performance on the closing day by Keighley band Howling Johnny and the Devil’s Rejects.

It was a celebration of standing the test of time and The Record Café has certainly stood firm on North Parade, despite the demise of others.

Mr Wildman admits its got even tougher on a local scale, having to compete with the rise of places like Shipley, Saltaire, Halifax and Leeds, while footfall decreases in Bradford.

But, he said its about keeping ahead and remaining true to your ethos.

The proprietor added: "North Parade has changed a lot.

"A lot of the shops and cafes and gone, bars have changed hands and the street seems to be geared more towards weekends than the daytime and midweek trade of old.

"I like the challenge though. To keep things interesting and to keep myself interested.

"It’s a cliché, but to run the type of place I’d like to spend time in, surrounded by people I’d like to spend time with, and most importantly selling beer, music and food that I’m passionate about.

"If you don’t have that passion, or lose it, I don’t think it’s something you can do."

That passion is a key driver and Mr Wildman has no plans on moving out any time soon.

He said: "I don’t think about it too much as I’ve found so far that the best ideas just come along, rather than trying to force them.

"Something just pops in to your head one day whilst you’re driving, or in the shower, and you think, yes, let’s give that a go.

"It would certainly be good to see what else we can do with this space, but it would have to fit with what we do.

"Hopefully over the next few years we can get more people in to Bradford city centre to enjoy what we do at The Record Café."