As the final days of 2022 dwindle into the distance, we’re getting a headstart on the new year and picking out a few of the imminent openings that’ll soon be calling our wonderful city home.
From brand-new music arenas and cultural landmarks to cosy neighbourhood cocktail bars, here’s what we’re most excited about in 2023…
The Factory is set to become Manchester’s newest, biggest venue for creativity and the arts in the heart of the city. A year-round home for Manchester International Festival, The Factory, set to open in June, will host events, facilitate large-scale, ambitious artworks in a unique space and also operate the Factory Academy, a multifaceted training programme to develop the next generation of creative talent.
Pitched as ‘one of the largest and most significant developments of its kind in Europe’, The Factory promises to become an ultra-flexible hub for local creative exchange and ‘art of the future’, presenting dance, theatre, music, opera, visual arts, pop culture, contemporary performance and the latest digital technologies in pioneering interdisciplinary mixtures, which will premiere in Manchester before touring the globe.
Chorlton’s Beech Road, a flourishing food and drink hotspot in the suburbs, is set to gain a brand-new neighbourhood cocktail bar in January.
97 is the latest concept from the team behind Tariff & Dale and The Lead Station, and promises an ‘intimate, elegant and informal’ space to enjoy creative, quality cocktails that range from signature serves to timeless classics with a twist.
A brand-new three-floor restaurant and bar is coming to Manchester’s Chorlton Street next year.
Situated on the corner of the iconic Canal Street, Maya will feature two separate dining experiences: a canal-side brasserie serving modern European classics and an elegant ground-floor dining room boasting an ingredient-led, locally sourced seasonal menu.
Maya will take over part of the ground and lower floors of 40 Chorlton Street, an early 20th-century warehouse that also houses the recently-opened neighbourhood hotel, LEVEN.
The venue’s interiors will merge the original industrial aesthetics of the space with ‘inspired details of art deco grandeur references’.
Maya is scheduled to open in the spring of 2023 and is being developed by a team of hospitality operators who have worked for brands like Soho House, Isabel Mayfair and Michelin-starred Petersham Nurseries.
Before it was ever officially announced, Soho House opening in the city was probably one of the worst-kept secrets in Manchester—still, there remains a fair bit of mystery surrounding the whole thing.
The exclusive members club, spread across three floors in the old Granada Studios building, marks the brand’s first foray into the North of England.
We know swish Italian concept Cecconi’s will be included in the plans, as will Mollie’s—an updated take on the classic American motel-diner created by the Soho House team.
Most notably, there’ll be a rooftop pool, something of a bold choice in Manchester. Along with that, there’ll be more outdoor space on the roof, and workspaces that are transformed into a music venue / club space in the evenings.
There have been murmurings of this one for a while, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that it’s finally happened. North Brewing Co have opened their brand new taproom right here in Manchester.
A long time coming, the team write on their own site that they’ve wanted to open here for the best part of 25 years. Now, they’ve found a new home on the flourishing Circle Square development, just off Oxford Road.
The taproom boasts 24 draught lines, including 18 keg beers and one cask, pouring North Brewing’s ever-evolving range of core beers, specials and collabs. They’ve worked with all our local favourites in the past, Cloudwater, Track and Pomona, so fingers crossed for more of that.
The group behind Schofield’s, Atomeca and Sterling have announced their first restaurant venture, taking over the former Bull and Bear site within the Stock Exchange Hotel.
The Stock Market Grill, which will open in February, is described as a British Brasserie, with touches of elegance from continental Europe, all served with homely and comforting flavours from the UK.
Head-Chef Joshua Reed–Cooper will be at the helm when the restaurant launches. His impressive CV includes working for Simon Rogan at The French, Sam Buckley at Where The Light Gets In and Manchester’s only Michelin-starred restaurant MANA, where he helped the team achieve their esteemed accreditation.
After becoming such a huge hit in that-there London, Manchester is set to get its very own Treehouse Hotel next spring.
The new opening forms part of a welcome £200m redevelopment of the former Renaissance Hotel on Deansgate, which will also include space along the River Irwell for pop-up food and drink vendors.
Manchester Museum will unveil its £15m makeover this February, as the venue aims to become the ‘most inclusive, imaginative and caring museum you might encounter’.
Reopening to the public on Sat 18 Feb, the museum’s revised mission is all about levelling up for culture and putting the diverse communities of Manchester at the centre of its programming.
Highlights from the imminent programme include the South Asia Gallery, a British Museum partnership co-curated with the South Asia Gallery Collective, which includes community leaders, educators and artists. It is the first permanent gallery in the UK to celebrate the lived experience and contributions of the South Asian diaspora.
Now this is an exciting one. The team behind beloved Mancunian brewers, Pomona Island, are opening their own pub in the city centre next year.
Going by the name North Westward Ho — a legendary old pub ship that was moored at Pomona Docks in the 70s — the new venue will take over the former Chaophraya site on Chapel Walks and Pall Mall, just above Sam’s Chophouse.
Pomona have promised to renovate the stunning building in a way that ‘will bring something special to the area’.
- Words:
- Bradley Lengden
- Published on:
- Fri 6 Jan 2023
December 2023 sees the opening of Manchester’s new 23,000 seat music and events arena, Co-Op Live.
Both Bruce Springsteen and venue investor Harry Styles are involved in the cutting-edge design of the space, which has been crafted with an intimate atmosphere in mind. The bowl will feature no corporate branding, and the hospitality suites will utilise soundproof black curtains to maximise the impact of each show’s sound and lighting.
Co-op Live has been built solely with concert acoustics in mind and will boast the largest floor space of any indoor venue. A significantly lower ceiling and tiered seating built to bring the audience closer to the artist on stage are some of the other considerations made to ensure the bowl is firmly music-led.