New Century has shared more details of a brand-new intimate gig venue and food concept set to launch at the venue next month.
Locker, a 450-capacity live music venue, will complement the upstairs hall with a ‘razor-sharp club programme running late into the night’. Audio engineers Adlib have developed an L-Acoustics sound system for the space, which will host the likes of Paranoid London, Soichi Terada, Madd Professor and Decius as part of its opening programme.
Speaking about the new space, New Century MD Abby Mudge says: “Locker aims to reimagine our ground floor in a way that enables us to dive into our acid-house roots, support even more grassroots talent as well as providing independent hospitality for which New Century is known and loved.”
“We’re proud to be creating more space in the city for emerging artists and promoters in a building that lives and breathes music. Locker will also provide even more experience and opportunities for the students who call our building home at dBs Institute, supporting New Century’s musical ecosystem.”
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Joining Locker in opening on Fri 2 Oct is In Hand, a new food concept which will take over the current ground floor offering. Rather than the multi-kitchen setup, In Hand, which sits along the familiar bar setup, brings things under one umbrella, focusing on quicker, pre-gig bites like Detroit-style focaccia pizza and slices, fried chicken tenders and sandos, and grab-and-go sides.
In Hand’s pizzas are built on an 8×10″ deep pan Detroit-style focaccia base with a signature caramelised cheese crust. The menu ranges from a classic marg and pepperoni to a Detroit hot loaded with jalapeños and ‘nduja hot honey and chicken parm or a mushroom and truffle.
Chicken tenders are 24-hour brined and twice fried, available in flavours including lemon pepper, garlic parmesan, ‘nduja hot honey, smoky BBQ and masala mayo, while the sandos come served with seasoned fries, with options including a classic chicken sando, prosciutto and ricotta on focaccia, a chilli cheese chicken sando and a roast harissa halloumi for the veggies.
For anyone dropping in during the day, the lunch deal offers any chicken tenders or a quarter Detroit pizza, plus a side and a soft drink, all for £10
Matt Harvey, Head of Food and Beverage at New Century, commented: “The menu is built around what people actually want when they’re at a gig, something that tastes great, travels well and doesn’t slow you down. We’ve spent a lot of time getting the foundations right, from developing the dough recipe for the Detroit base through to the brining process for the chicken tenders. Every element has been thought about to ensure In Hand is comfort food done properly, and we think people are going to love it.”
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- Words:
- Bradley Lengden
- Published on:
- Wed 23 Sep 2026
