'Brilliant York night out for the food and disco - but the toilets were awful!'

Yahoo

07-06-2025

Here are the key facts, memories and photos in our look back at The Willow in York
NEWS that one of York's most popular ever nightspots is to 'return' for one night only sent us delving into our archive, if not quite dusting down our dancing shoes.
The Willow – the legendary York Chinese restaurant-turned disco in Coney Street, which closed ten years ago – is set to return to York for one night this month.
The Willow Experience is part of the York Festival of Ideas and will allow those attending to 're-experience the Willow'.
The event, on June 14, from 6pm to 7pm, involves the Willow Archives Stories, a series of six short archive films that share memories from the challenges and joys experienced by the family-run business, as well as why residents loved it and the venue's special last night.
1999: The Willow Restaurant, Coney Street.
The screenings will mark the 10th anniversary of the Willow's closure and the launch of the Willow Community Digital Archive, a StreetLife project focusing on the communities of Coney Street.
Admission is free but booking is required. Find out more here.
To mark the resurrection of the Willow – albeit – for one night only, we have put together this gallery of images from the iconic night spot.
Readers have also been commenting on the 'come-back' and sharing memories of their nights at The Willow; here is a selection: below, followed by The Willow in York essential fact file:
Members of our nostalgia Facebook group, Why We Love York - Memories had some fine recollections to share about nights at York's most unusual disco
Rosie Brannan wrote: "Absolutely loved The Willow; Chinese at it's best. Was so sorry to lose it."
Julian Schofield posted: "Loved that place and Tommy - great nights spent there with the staff of Elliot's - would love for us all to meet up there on that night."
2015: Tommy and Sue Fong of The Willow in Coney Street, pictured ahead of its closing weekend. Picture- Frank Dwyer
Richard Gatecliffe said: "Always had a great night there."
Rebecca Kelly said: "Brilliant night out, food and disco etc, but the toilets were awful!"
Sally Rowlinson recalled: "Your feet stuck to the floor."
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1. The Willow in Coney Street has been part of York's social scene for decades; it dates back almost 90 years to 1936 when it was a cafe, of the same name.
2. In 1973, Tommy Fong took it over and it became one of York's more unusual - but super-popular - late-night spots. Part Chinese restaurant, part late-night disco, generations had enjoyed a late night bop at The Willow alongside a bowl of chow mein or a dish of prawn crackers.
3. Accessed through a set of steep steps, a night at The Willow was a must-do for locals and visitors alike.
Inside The Willow Chinese Disco which closed its doors forever on Sunday 26 July 2015
4. When news broke that the much-loved venue was to close, more than 400 people signed a petition in protest.
5. A spoof video, titled Hitler Reacts to the News That Willow is Closing, also attracted almost 12,000 hits on YouTube.
6. Speaking to The Press back in 2015, owner Tommy Fong revealed why it had to close. He said his lease for the premises from its owner Aviva had expired in 2012, since when he had operated under a 'tenancy at will' lease, allowing the landlord to terminate it at any time, and he had been given four weeks to vacate the building.
7. It was an end of an era when The Willow staged its last dance on Sunday July 26, 2015. For die hard fans, York's night life was never the same again.