Cafe and Restaurant where JK Rowling Wrote Harry Potter Novels Now for Sale
J.K. Rowling
Posted by: sue
January 27, 2009, 07:42 PM
A cafe and restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland where J.K. Rowling famously wrote portions of the Harry Potter novels is up for sale again. The Scotsman reports the former Nicolson's Cafe, which was sold several years ago and is now the site of the Buffet King Chinese restaurant, is now for sale by owner Eddie Ng. Mr Ng apparently offered to sell it to the Harry Potter author " for £1 million – an offer which was politely declined." The article continues:
"We were thinking of selling to JK Rowling first because we think
something should be done to mark the fact she wrote the book here."
...
While Ms Rowling turned down the offer, Mr Ng is optimistic someone
will see the potential in turning it into a tourist attraction to mark
the unassuming spot where the Boy Wizard was created. He added: "The restaurant is on the open market but I would prefer someone to come in and preserve this place. We are looking for a buyer but it is still early stages."
As many fans know, there is a plaque currently outside the building which marks the place where Jo spent so much time writing the beloved novels, and the current owner of the building hopes that fans will continue to visit the site.
"The plaque was one of two set up on the street in honour of the writer.
The other – which was unveiled by the Edinburgh City of Literature
Trust in 2006 – is still in place, fixed to the outside of the building.Mr Ng said the restaurant, just yards from the National Museum of Scotland, is in a prime location to draw in tourists.
He added: "I'm sure a museum would boost tourism. It
is quite a renowned place. We do not advertise the JK Rowling
connection that much, but it still attracts so much attention. We get
many tourists from Japan and America."
35 Comments
Buy it and move it stick by stick to Orlando.
But in fairness it’s really the train carriage where she dreamt it all up we want.
someone should turn it into the leaky cauldron. that would be so awesome!!!! unlikely, of course, but we can still hope. =)
I am really happy he said Japan, cause it proves to people who yelled in my face as disappointment when they heard the international premier of OOTP was going to be in Japan that there is a large number of Japanese HP fans.
I am not a Japanese though, but i really hate people get jealous easily.
I am really happy he said Japan, cause it proves to people who yelled in my face as disappointment when they heard the international premier of OOTP was going to be in Japan that there is a large number of Japanese HP fans.
I am not a Japanese though, but i really hate people get jealous easily.
and for some reason, it showed up twice|||
They don’t advertise it much? No kidding.
I lived about 3 blocks from this cafe for a year — and I had NO CLUE it was there! I knew where JKR’s house was.(No, I’m not telling you; she’s a private person.) I knew her car at the time. I knew the location of the other famous cafe where she wrote was (The Elephant House on George IV Bridge). But not this place.
I’ve been back to Edinburgh twice since I moved away, and this cafe is STILL hard to spot, even when you’re looking for it. It’s NOT on street level. You have to find these odd little stairs. I doubt they get as many tourists as they would if it were an obvious place.
It’s a pity Mr Ng is selling. I hope the buyer is as generous and gracious as Mr Ng and his staff, who happily welcome in visitors who come specifically to see the site and don’t stay to eat. They made my host, daughter and I very happy the day we visited.
I’ve been there (and bought an ‘elephant cup’) and I’m almost glad it’s being sold. It wasn’t a very nice experience. They did have a wall dedicated to Harry Potter which was a nice touch and the view from the back windows was amazing (the Edinburgh Castle), but there was nothing else “Harry Potter-y” about it. I really hope the next owners will focus more on the Harry Potter part, and not so much on the cafe/restaurant/bleh part. :)
A MILLION nods of the head to that idea, Mckenzie!
Everyone put in $1 each, we could all own it. Maybe $2 with an extra million for changing it into The Three Broomsticks.
‘Buy it and move it stick by stick to Orlando.’
You’ve already stolen the theme park from Harry’s place of birth! I think we’ll keep everything else in Blighty where it belongs thanks very much.
I agree, turn it into the Leaky Cauldron! Even though I live in the US. Haha. xD I would visit it someday.
@ Nathan
$1 each, great idea! I’m in :D
“I lived about 3 blocks from this cafe for a year — and I had NO CLUE it was there!”
Yeah I lived just down from Chambers St on Cowgate for 4 months and didn’t realize it was there until someone told me about 3 months in…turns out it was right above Black Medicine cafe where I’d been drinking hot chocolate, eating bagels, and using the free wifi almost every day since I’d been there, lol. I never went into Buffet King though…
Buy it and move it stick by stick to Orlando.