An empty industrial unit in Manchester could be transformed into an enormous beer hall and night market.
The proposed The Foundry site would include a walled garden, independent shops, an open-kitchen barbecue restaurant, a bakery, a coffee shop and a gym.
If it goes ahead, it will see the old Presbar Diecasting Foundry on Store Street turned into a food and drink venture.
The exciting new plans come from some local hospitality heavyweights – A Very Inc. is headed up by Adelaide Winter and Joel Wilkinson, the team behind Ramona and The Firehouse as well as previously founding the likes of the Albert Hall, Albert’s Schloss, Gorilla and Rudy’s.
A glimpse inside the site. Credit: The Foundry
The Foundry is set to take shape in the Piccadilly East neighbourhood near Manchester Piccadilly, on a 200,000 sq ft plot.
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The site would be split into two – Diecast, which would be home to the bars, bakery and night market; and Diecast Studios, with creative studios and a tech hub.
Its Beer Hall will include a craft brewery and long communal tables, while the corner of the building closest to Store Street will have a more daytime offering of coffee, and deli and baked goods.
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The Foundry’s plans. Credit: The Foundry
The outside space would be turned into a beer garden, with lights strewn across the yard, a herb garden and beehives.
The Foundry would be open on Thursday and Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays from midday, closing no later than 1am.
Due to the residential properties in the area, the plans also include sound-proofing the warehouse.
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The Foundry comes from the same team behind Ramona and The Firehouse. Credit: Ramona
It’s set to create 1000 jobs for the local economy.
A public consultation is now set to take place before planning permission is sought for the project.
A statement on The Foundry’s website says: “Our passion is for reimagining, reusing and breathing life into historic, derelict buildings and neighbourhoods in this amazing city.
“Our next adventure is one of our biggest challenges yet. We want to transform the former Presbar Diecasting Foundry on Store Street into a new creative neighbourhood, providing a resource and community for local residents and visitors to Manchester.
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“We have created this website to tell our new neighbours a bit more about our plans and to ask for your feedback. We’d also love you to come and say hello in person.
“At our venues we take pride in the positive relationships that we have with our neighbours. We’re looking forward to getting to know you all and hopefully having a good time along the way.”
‘A lovely surprise’ says Manchester restaurant after being added to Michelin Guide
Daisy Jackson
A local restaurant in Manchester has said it’s a ‘proud moment’ as it gets added to the prestigious Michelin Guide.
10 Tib Lane, a gorgeous three-storey restaurant and bar tucked on a quiet city centre street, said it was ‘a lovely surprise’ to find themselves added to the guide.
The restaurant opened back in 2021, taking over the former Bock Biere Cafe on Tib Lane.
The beauty in its interiors lies in the building’s bones, with a stripped-back space showing off textured walls and wooden floors and big sash windows.
As you climb the stairs from the bar, you’ll find a restaurant serving up clever small plates with British produce but with a definite French influence.
10 Tib Lane comes from the same team behind beloved Chorlton neighbourhood bar Henry C, as well as the newly-opened Posie cocktail bar in the city centre.
The Michelin Guide said the restaurant is serving ‘well-crafted dishes’, highlighting its cheese beignets.
10 Tib Lane in ManchesterThe restaurant has been added to the Michelin Guide
The guide said: “Stretching over three floors of a tall, narrow townhouse, you enter this welcoming restaurant via its cosy bar – ideal for a cocktail or a glass from their selection of European natural and low-intervention wines – before heading up to dining rooms decked out in rustic, semi-industrial chic.
“Order some oysters or cheese beignets while you choose from a menu that shows off influences from both Spain (Cantabrian anchovies on toast) and France (chocolate ganache).
“Throughout the cooking, the well-crafted dishes allow top-quality ingredients to shine.”
Speaking of their Michelin Guide addition, 10 Tib Lane wrote: “What a lovely surprise to receive this week. Marking a proud moment for us and the team.”
A brand-new shipping container village is opening in Manchester, with 250 new studios for local business
Daisy Jackson
A new shipping container village that will be home to 250 affordable studio spaces is coming to Manchester.
The concept may be familiar to you if you already know Pollard Yard, a maze of local business over in New Islington.
And now the team behind that, Meanwhile Creative, have announced plans for a major new site just north of the city centre.
When it opens, Bromley Yard will provide a whopping 250 studio spaces that can be transformed into studios, workshops, retail units, dark kitchens, salons, gyms, and just about anything else you can fit inside their walls.
Set to be one of the largest container communities in Europe, this is going to really foster all those amazing independent makers and creators that Manchester is so proud to be home to.
Pollard Yard itself won’t be going anywhere – it’s a vibrant home to more than 160 independent studios and a network of creatives spanning art, music, food, fashion and more, with a waiting list that can stretch for years.
Bromley Yard will just be building on that, unlocking even more space for the city’s creative sector and building on a clear demand for low-cost studio spaces – and building on underused urban space.
Palms Coffee at Pollard YardBromley Yard will build on the success of Pollard YardBromley Yard comes from the same team as Pollard YardHow Bromley Yard will look. Credit: Meanwhile Creative
Phase One of the new shipping container village will open this year, with more phases to follow.
There’ll also be dedicated music units, food and beverage spaces, and customer facing studios, much like there is over at Pollard Yard.
Bromley Yard is set to be within walking distance of the city centre, just off Rochdale Road.
Expressions of interest are now open, with early access opportunities, open days, and previews set to be announced in the coming months.
Daisy Jackson -
14th February 2022 
