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
Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
Business
Manchester’s historic Portico Library secures £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s Portico Library has secured a whopping £6.4 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In case you missed it, ambitious plans to transform the historic Grade II-listed building on Mosely Street were already unveiled last October… but now, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced it is committing £6.4 million of funding towards the project, hoping that the building thrives as the UK’s most sustainable historic library for generations to come.
The grant is being described as a ‘major milestone’ in the approximately £12 million Portico Reunited project.
The Portico Reunited project will look to ‘reunite’ the historic building’s three floors for the first time in over a century, creating a fully-accessible and sustainable cultural library.
Founded all the way back in 1806, The Portico Library played a central role in Manchester’s rise as the world’s first modern city, and since then has been serving as a window into the past and a providing a place of inspiration for anyone who needs it.
The Portico Library has secured a £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation / Credit: Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
Crucially, plans will see a step-free entrance and lift installed to make the library accessible to all.
There’ll also be new exhibition and event spaces introduced as part of the scheme to explore the stories of Manchester’s communities and the city’s heritage. There will a Northern Bookshop, showcasing regional and emerging writers, and independent publishers, as well as a creative Portico Kitchen, which will celebrate the city’s food culture, writing, and history.
A place for school groups, families, and all people to explore Portico’s collection and experiment creatively also forms part of the plans.
Dr Thom Keep, Librarian and CEO of The Portico Library, called the funding grant a ‘landmark moment’ in the Portico’s ‘rich and complex history’, and a ‘huge achievement’ for its staff, trustees, volunteers, and partners.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we can reunite this extraordinary building and make room for people to discover, learn and create together,” he added.
“We have listened to thousands of people about what the Portico could become, and their ideas and experiences have helped shape these plans.
“Our ambition is a library that belongs to the whole city – a place to discover remarkable collections, question the stories we have inherited, and create new possibilities together.”
Manchester City Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent for the project, and the building is expected to close for construction in late spring 2028 and reopen once again in early March 2030.
Following reopening, the transformed library is expected to welcome around 95,000 visitors each year.
Emily Sergeant -
16th February 2021 
