Manchesters Pubs, Bars, Clubs, and Restaurants.

[flange]

Sneak peak inside All Star Lanes at Great Northern, inside the private bowling room, with the two private bowling lanes.

Lanes 9 & 10 being built...they're going to be some lovely lanes!

From All Star Lanes Manchester Facebook page.

[flange]

Another Italian heading to Alderley Edge

By Lisa Reeves

Saturday, 26th January, 2013



Whilst there has been a lot of talk in the press this week about a certain Italian apparently preparing to leave Alderley Edge, we can report that another Italian is certainly heading to the village.

We're not talking about a new signing at Manchester City though, but Panacea rebranding their restaurant.

The restaurant at Panacea is currently closed and will reopen as a Piccolino Italian restaurant in early spring with a feature grill and terrace for year round dining, come rain or shine.

There are currently 21 Piccolino restaurants around the country, owned by Manchester based The Individual Restaurant Company - who also own The Alderley Bar & Grill.

The bar and club at Panacea has also undergone a makeover and reopened on Friday, 25th January. Changes include a new bar room on the ground floor, a new bar in the club area on the first floor and more booths to hire.

Panacea opened it doors in Alderley Edge in September 2008 after a reported £3.2 million spend. Disaster struck after only five days when fire engulfed the building in the early hours of September 17th 2008.

Initially the owners said they thought the fire had started accidentally, but within the week police were treating the incident as suspicious and revealed that the cause of the blaze was believed to be arson. Nobody has been prosecuted for the attack though and the restaurant and club reopened in October 2009.

http://www.alderleyedge.com/news/art...-alderley-edge

[VDB]

MEN

Living Ventures offers a slice of fine dining

THE boss of restaurant and bar group Living Ventures is encouraging individual investors to buy a slice of its latest £2.5m fine dining venue.

Managing director Tim Bacon said the group is looking to raise £750,000 and is offering a 30 per cent shareholding in its Manchester House Restaurant and Lounge Bar, which is due to open in Spinningfields in June.

In an unusual step, the company is offering 30 investors or “member partners” from the Manchester area to each take a one per cent stake for £25,000.

In return, shareholders will receive a yearly yield on their investment and a dividend. They will get access to priority bookings as well as a monthly expense account.

Their backing will fall under the government's Enterprise Investment Scheme, which encourages individuals to invest in smaller UK firms by offering tax incentives.

Mr Bacon, whose group has transformed drinking and dining in the Spinningfields area in the past two years, having opened The Alchemist, Australasia and The Oast House, has teamed up with Aiden Byrne, the youngest chef to win a Michelin Star in the UK, for the new venture.

The duo are planning a restaurant that ‘embodies Manchester and its people' and is ultimately aiming for a Michelin Star.

It will be based at Tower 12, Avenue North, Spinningfields, the building was formerly known as Manchester House and acts as the inspiration behind the name. It will feature a second-floor restaurant and a 12th floor Sky Lounge

Mr Bacon said: “This is a different kind of fundraising exercise and an alternative to approaching the banks.

“We want to bring in a mix of investors whom we want to be part of the business.

“A lot of people want to own a restaurant or be part of the restaurant trade, and this gives them the opportunity to do just that.

“We want Manchester people on board, who will come in, use the facilities, host parties and enjoy being part of it.”

He added: “We've had a lot of interest in it already but I really want to mix it up and am keen to get female shareholders on board.”

Living Ventures, which employs 1,100 staff, is set to turnover 45m for its current financial year which ends on March 31, and is targeting revenues of £50m for 2013.

It toasted its best Christmas trading to date, with sales up 14 per cent on the previous year, boosted by openings in 2012 which included a second Alchemist on New York Street, Manchester, and The Botanist, in Alderley Edge.

This year, Living Ventures expects to open Artisan, a pizza restaurant, which will also be in Manchester House, and the group is expanding the Australasia bar to create the Grand Pacific Bar and Garden.

The group, which operates a total of 27 venues, is also eyeing openings in Leeds and Liverpool.

In total, the group is investing £5m-£6m and will be recruiting around 200 staff during 2013.

[VDB]

Opens on Friday

Damson group creates 60 MediaCityUK jobs with new restaurant

The Damson restaurant group is to create 60 jobs at a £1.4m venue at MediaCityUK, Salford Quays. The 140-seater restaurant will open on Friday.

Damson, which was established in Heaton Moor, Stockport, in 2009 by Steve Pilling and Simon Stanley, will become the first independent food brand at MediaCityUK.

The firm has also pledged to provide training and apprenticeships to hospitality students at Salford City College's FutureSkills campus next door

Mr Pilling said “This is one of the most exciting projects I’ve been involved in yet.

“The opportunity to be at the forefront of a new dining community in the region’s most exciting location and to invest in the region’s hospitality industry at the same time is a fantastic thing.”

The Damson team is also behind Mr Pilling's Roast Restaurant and Oyster Bar, a £2m restaurant which will open in the third quarter of this year at The Courthouse, Deansgate, The chain is weighing up sites in central Manchester for another branch of Damson.

The Damson team also runs The Red Lion gastropub in Stockport.

[WingTips]

The new Damson Restaurant at MCUK will open imminently.

[pixiepie]

Originally Posted by WingTips

The new Damson Restaurant at MCUK will open imminently.

On Friday, maybe!?

[macc]

Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn opens on Thursday. Midday for the bar. 5pm for the restaurant.

This is the Socio Rehab replacement by the Almost Famous Burgers peeps.

Expect tacos.

[TheDukeAbides]

Originally Posted by macc

Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn opens on Thursday. Midday for the bar. 5pm for the restaurant.

This is the Socio Rehab replacement by the Almost Famous Burgers peeps.

Expect tacos.

Expect inebriated and useless staff?

[flange]

Tim Bacon and Aiden Byrne sign up 21 investors for Manchester House restaurant

Neil Gerrard

Tuesday 29 January 2013 16:26

An innovative investment scheme backing a new Manchester fine dining restaurant with Aiden Byrne at the helm has already attracted 21 individuals, each willing to pay £25,000 to take a stake, it has emerged.

News of the scheme to raise £750,000 towards the £2.4m Manchester House project in Spinningfields by offering 30 investors a 1% stake of £25,000 each emerged earlier this week.

Tim Bacon, managing director of the 27-strong Living Ventures group of bars and restaurants, launched the fundraising initiative for the standalone business just two weeks ago.

Bacon said that the funding route, which he had not used before was appropriate to the scheme because it would attract the kind of people who would also enjoy using the restaurant. He and Byrne, who has a Michelin-starred background, aim to win Manchester its first star in 33 years.

"One of the things that surprised me was the amount of interest we have had," Bacon said. "We have never ever taken investors on before or done that style of allowing individuals to invest. But a lot of people know what we do up north and they probably have a deal of confidence in the fact that it is going to work. Aiden Byrne is well known up here and he seems to tick a lot of boxes for people.

"The reason why this works so beautifully for us is that we are looking for local people. I am not interested in people from London investing in it, particularly. I want people in Manchester or that come to Manchester on a regular basis who are going to use it.

Work on the new restaurant is expected to start on 21 February, with an opening scheduled for 3 June.

http://www.caterersearch.com/Article...ster-House.htm

[timo]

Originally Posted by TheDukeAbides

Expect inebriated and useless staff?

Not if the other places in the group are anything to go by. Service has always been exemplary.

[TheDukeAbides]

Originally Posted by timo

Not if the other places in the group are anything to go by. Service has always been exemplary.

Then either you got luck or I was unlucky on the occasions I've been to Almost Famous.

[NQ Lee]

Originally Posted by TheDukeAbides

Then either you got luck or I was unlucky on the occasions I've been to Almost Famous.

You're not the only one. I have been twice and the service was shocking both times. I am just annoyed with myself that I went back after the first time.

[neil081273]

Originally Posted by macc

Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn opens on Thursday. Midday for the bar. 5pm for the restaurant.

This is the Socio Rehab replacement by the Almost Famous Burgers peeps.

Expect tacos.

[macc]

Originally Posted by NQ Lee

You're not the only one. I have been twice and the service was shocking both times. I am just annoyed with myself that I went back after the first time.

Same. I went once and the service was dire (as was the acid cocktail I had).

They'd ran out of burgers on a Sunday afternoon so there were no queues but they still took around 2 hours to get our order out. This was after trying to pass me off a lukewarm chilli dog after an hour. I explained that we all ordered a meal, not just me, and it was cold; so the waitress took it away... and then gave it to someone else (minus the chips I'd eaten).

The head waitress heard us commenting on how reeeaally bad it was and brought us a shed load of chicken wings and a shot each to apologise. This was a nice touch so we let them off and I vowed to return for the burgers.

However on 3 subsequent attempts to visit the queues were too large and given the disorganised way they'd handled the food, I really didn't fancy taking part in an apparent queuing lottery in the bar where they would seemingly pluck people out at random to be seated. Sounded like you could be waiting 2 minutes or 2 hours and there's only so much I'll do for a burger.

Loved the venue though and the food, when we got it, was good. The bouncers were always friendly fellas too. Their marketing has worked amazingly well for them and I'd still like to try a burger.

I'd give them a second shot but I can't be arsed with big queues.

Nice to hear about Mexican food at the new place but will it be better than Pancho's Burritos?

I presume the new venue won't have the PDT-style appeal of the AFB venue. With windows giving visibility into the restaurant and no upstairs, hidden queue trap they'll get more people not bothering to enter the premises at all if it's busy. Hopefully this will make it more accessible.

[VDB]

From the Leeds forum/BusinessDesk Yorkshire

D&D Restaurant

ACCLAIMED restaurant group D&D London's investment in two venues at the Trinity Leeds shopping development demonstrates that "the best time to invest is in a recession", its chief executive has said.

Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com during a visit to the region yesterday, Des Gunewardena also revealed that D&D London is planning more openings across the UK, with Birmingham and Manchester potential targets.

D&D is run by Mr Gunewardena and David Loewi, the pair who led the buyout of Conran restaurants in 2006. The business has a chain of 34 restaurants, including Le Pont de la Tour and Bluebird in London, as well as premises in countries including America, Japan and Denmark.

D&D is to create around 100 jobs when it opens Crafthouse and Angelica at the £350m development, which is set to open on March 21. Mr Gunewardena said: "The best time to invest is in a recession provided you're creating something that's going to last for a long time.

"We built some of our most famous restaurants like Le Pont de la Tour when they came out of the vicious recession of the 90s. Provided you've got cash to do it recessions are good times to open."

And commenting on why restaurants were seeing people continue to dine at them managing director Mr Loewi added: "You're not just going to a restaurant to eat food. It's a social experience and restaurants over here have become more American where people want to go and meet."

Asked why D&D London had chosen to open its first restaurants outside the capital in Leeds, Mr Gunewardena said: "We feel it's a pretty cool city. It's part of a plan of ours of going out to other cities in the UK outside London. We're really happy to be coming here.

"What we don't want to be is some international restaurant company coming to Leeds but we do want to open restaurants that really become part of the Leeds scene." He described D&D's restaurant portfolio as "bespoke to every city" and described Trinity Leeds as "wonderful".

Crafthouse will showcase the very best British produce and will boast 144-covers with views across the city. Angelica will feature an outside terrace with penthouse restaurant boasting a cocktail bar.

[NQ Lee]

Damson in Media City was most defintiely open for business when I walked past this evening.

[flange]

A new Nightclub/Bar opening in the former Chicago Rock Cafe unit on Peter Street, a new licence is online.

Nightclub/Bar (name to be confirmed)

Applicant Name: Yolo Leisure Limited

Premises Address: Basement, 23 Peter Street, Manchester, M2 5QR

Application Type: Premises Licence (New)

Proposed licensable activities to be carried on at the premises:

Proposed trading hours for the provision of regulated entertainment (live music, recorded music, performances of dance):
Mon to Sun 2100 to 0500

Proposed trading hours for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises only:
Mon to Sun 2100 to 0500

Proposed opening hours for the premises:
Mon to Sun 2100 to 0530

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/50...applications/8

[Cobbydaler]

Originally Posted by flange

A new Nightclub/Bar opening in the former Chicago Rock Cafe unit on Peter Street, a new licence is online.



http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/50...applications/8

Company registered address in Trafford Park trading estate? Strange... http://bit.ly/11kQ7iV

[NQ Lee]

If MCC grant that licence they will have learnt nothing from previous mistakes. Maybe it's just me but I think that we already have enough drinking establishments in this area. It would be nice to see something different in this location. A restaurant or cafe would be good. With a little imagination this area could become quite nice, but I fear the worst.


Whatever happens lets hope they do something with that awful facade. It irritates me so much when I walk past.

[LongRipple]

Originally Posted by NQ Lee

Whatever happens lets hope they do something with that awful facade. It irritates me so much when I walk past.

It was always a strangely out-of-place building given the streetscape. Here in 1924 it appears half music hall/half sikh temple.

http://images.manchester.gov.uk/web/...e&refirn=80751

Someone mentioned a few months back on here how they thought much of the original frontage is still intact behind that ugly facade, so maybe there is hope.

.