A brand new Chinese market hall is set to open doors underneath one of Manchester’s most exciting city centre neighbourhoods this summer.
Hello Oriental will be the latest edition to the Circle Square development on Oxford Road.
The new venue – which started life as an online supermarket specialising in Chinese and Vietnamese food, and is based on a concept created by popular local Chinese restaurant Ocean Treasure – will span across three floors, mostly underground, and as well as being home to a food hall serving Chinese roast meats, dim sum and East Asian street food, it will also feature a modern Chinese bakery and supermarket.
The development will all take shape beneath the new 5.7 acre Symphony Park.
And it’s also set to be joining Canvas Manchester – a new gig venue and events space – where DJs and live music will provide entertainment for the market hall’s visitors at the weekends.
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Speaking ahead of the arrival of Hello Oriental – which has been inspired by global dining destinations like Bang Bang Oriental in London, and 1800 Lucky in Miami – Ricky Yip, owner of Hello Oriental, said: “When we launched Hello Oriental as an online supermarket 12 months ago, that was only the start of our journey.
“We also wanted to deliver the very best Asian and oriental produce to our customers in Manchester, but we needed a flagship venue that would bring our vision to life”.
He continued: “It was clear to us that Circle Square is the perfect place for us [as it’s] a new city neighbourhood that is bringing people together and creating a really thriving community.
“We can’t wait to launch Hello Oriental this year and we’re confident that our new market hall experience will be a place for food-lovers of all backgrounds to come together, socialise and enjoy the very best Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine.”
“We’ve always had one goal,” Azim Kourah, Director of Hello Oriental, added.
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“To bring the finest oriental food to the people of Manchester to enjoy [and] moving to the city’s newest, fast growing neighbourhood enables us to reach new audiences through an original concept and be delivered with the same exceptional levels of quality and service we’re famous for.”
Tom Renn – Managing Director at Bruntwood SciTech Manchester – added: “The very best cities around the world are known for being hotbeds of culture, entertainment and social activity, and that vibrancy and community is exactly what will be on offer at Circle Square.
“Hello Oriental is a fantastic concept that will appeal to the students and residents that call Circle Square home, as well as to the office workers and visitors alike.”
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Hello Oriental is expected to open in July 2021.
The venue will be open seven days a week – from 10am to 11pm – with the market hall as its focal point.
Business
Legendary buffet restaurant could close as plans for ANOTHER Deansgate hotel are revealed
Daisy Jackson
Plans have been revealed for another hotel on Deansgate – and if it goes ahead, it could mean Manchester’s legendary buffet restaurant may close.
Maybrook House stands on a prominent corner in the city centre, where Deansgate crosses with Blackfriars Street.
It’s functioned as offices for years, but now there are proposals to change the building into a ‘vibrant, high-quality new hotel’.
If it goes ahead, the new hotel would provide 240 rooms as well as a new bar and lounge spaces.
Plans for the new Deansgate hotel include a two-storey extension on top of the building, which would bring it to an eight-storey building (still well below the height of neighbouring structures, like the 20-storey Treehouse Hotel).
The team working on the new hotel have said that its design will ‘respect the character of the surrounding area while improving the appearance and experience of the building’.
Other plans include repainting the existing brickwork, refurbishing the concrete panels, and installing more efficient windows.
As for the cafes and restaurants already occupying Maybrook House, most will be able to stay – the plans say that the ground-floor occupiers can remain in place throughout the construction period.
But if it all goes ahead, Cosmo, the world buffet that has been here for almost a decade (and was previously Red Hot World Buffet) would need to vacate the premises.
Maybrook House said: “We recognise that Cosmo is a valued and well-established venue in the city, and are engaging with them directly.”
A hotel operator for the building hasn’t been announced yet, but they said that they are ‘currently in advanced discussions with a prestigious hotel operator’.
Two Greater Manchester towns among 16 UK locations set to get new Aldi stores this year
Emily Sergeant
Aldi is set to open 16 new stores over the coming months as part of its continued expansion across the UK, it has been confirmed.
For thousands of residents in two Greater Manchester towns, they could be about to get themselves a new local supermarket, as Aldi – which currently has 1,080 stores nationwide – has revealed the locations where its new stores will be opening up before the end of the year, and our region is well represented.
Aldi says it has a long-term ambition to operate 1,500 stores across the UK, helping more communities access its award-winning quality products at ‘unbeatable’ prices.
And these 16 new stores are set to work towards that ambition.
Watford and Hoxton in London, Balsall Common and Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, Malton in North Yorkshire, and even the Isle of Wight are just some of the locations across the country where new Aldi stores will be opening up, alongside the two Greater Manchester stores.
Two Greater Manchester towns are set to get new Aldi stores this year / Credit: Aldi UK
Here in Greater Manchester, it’s been confirmed that Hattersley and Wigan are the two areas chosen by Aldi for new stores.
The announcement of the 16 new store locations follows the opening of Aldi’s new Salford Quays store last month, and also forms part of the budget retailer’s planned £370 million investment into new stores during 2026.
It also comes after Aldi increased pay rates for store colleagues earlier this year following a £42 million investment in pay during 2026.
Full list of new Aldi stores opening in 2026
Hattersley, Greater Manchester
Newport, Isle of Wight
Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham
Newport, South Wales
Orpington, London
Hoxton, London
Ashford, Kent
Watford, London
Rayleigh, Essex
Balsall Common, West Midlands
Marble Arch, London
Malton, North Yorkshire
Port Talbot, Wales
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
Wigan, Greater Manchester
Sudbury, Suffolk
“At Aldi, we’re committed to making high-quality, affordable food accessible to everyone, which is why we continue to invest in expanding our store network across the UK,” commented Jonathan Neale, who is the Managing Director of National Real Estate at Aldi UK.
“Our £370 million investment in new stores this year will help us bring Aldi’s unbeatable value to even more communities, supporting local economies through our industry-leading pay for colleagues.”
Emily Sergeant -
16th February 2021 
