Factory International, the new £210m cultural space tipped by Time Out magazine to be one of the best places to visit in 2023, has revealed details of its upcoming food offering – and there’s a lot to get excited about.
With plans to introduce a ground floor foyer café and public bar, as well as two auditorium bars when it opens later this year, the team has been busy looking for hospitality partners to come on board.
Today, bosses have confirmed that two of the north west’s best-loved operators – one of which is behind YES in Manchester and Ox Club in Leeds – will come together to service the new multi-million-pound arts venue.
Set to be known as Super Serve Manchester, the new hospitality collaboration will see operators Solitaire Restaurants Ltd and Square One join forces in a new partnership.
Together, they will look after all the permanent food and beverage services on site when it opens at the heart of the city’s new St. John’s neighbourhood, formerly home to Granada TV and next to the Science and Industry Museum, later this year.
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With menus changing seasonally, the inaugural offer at Factory International will include brunch, grab-and-go options and a late-night street-style offering when it launches this summer.
Super Serve, alongside other local traders, will also provide catering for the much-loved Festival Square which this year relocates to the venues’ new river-side public spaces for the first time.
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Solitaire Restaurants Ltd has a twenty-year proven track record of successful independent food and drink establishments and is well known locally for the busy bar and venue YES, which first burst onto the Manchester scene in 2018.
Solitaire is a well-known operator across the north west, with its team also responsible for favourites such as Ox Club, Belgrave Music Hall and Headrow House (Leeds) and Nightcrawler Pizza (Liverpool).
Square One, meanwhile, is an independent north west operator which provides infrastructure for events of all sizes, specialising in directing large-scale bar operations.
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The team brings experience delivering support at scale in the north for the likes of Highest Point Festival, The Depot at Mayfield, Creamfields, Parklife and the Garden Party.
Speaking on the new opening, Super Serve Manchester Managing Director Stevie Mulgrave said: “With many of the team starting their hospitality careers right here in Manchester before going on to work with some of the best independent operators throughout the North West, it’s an honour now to be chosen as the Food & Beverage partner for Factory International.
“Already billed by Time Out magazine as one of the best things to visit in 2023, we can’t wait to be a part of this amazing project in the heart of our city.”
Solitaire Director of Operations Gemma Hampton-Stone added: “We’ll be taking our inspiration from dining tables across Manchester.
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“We’re interested in working with the local community to deliver a diverse and accessible offer; working alongside suppliers who have the highest regard for sustainability and animal welfare and engaging in non-intensive and traditional techniques to create some of the best tasting and highest quality products around.
“We’re looking forward to presenting a seasonally changing menu that reflects the vibrancy the area has to offer.”
Sheena Wrigley, Venue Director, Factory International, said: “We are thrilled to be working with the newly formed Super Serve as our food and beverage partner.
“That two companies at the top of their game have come together to collaborate and created something new just for Factory International couldn’t be more fitting.
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“Not only does the team bring a wealth of expertise as Soltaire and Square One and understanding of the Manchester and North West hospitality scene, but they also showed a real commitment to supporting our values including sustainability, community engagement, and accessible pricing.
“We are excited to be working together establishing a creative, eclectic, welcoming new social space and in a unique part of the city.”
Programmed and operated by Factory International, the team behind the world-renowned Manchester International Festival, the new venue will host a year-round programme of original creative work, music and special events – from intimate concerts to immersive installations. Outside, pop-up performances, events and markets will create a buzzing riverside destination for all to enjoy.
Audiences will be invited to preview the trailblazing new cultural space during this year’s Manchester International Festival which returns across the city from 29 June to 16 July.
The venue’s official opening will be in October with the production Free Your Mind, a large-scale immersive performance based on The Matrix films created by Danny Boyle, Es Devlin and the co-founders of Olivier Award-winning Boy Blue.
Featured image – Supplied
City Centre
Spinningfields to celebrate launch of new app with competition to win hundreds of FREE prizes
Emily Sergeant
You can be in with a chance of winning one of hundreds of free prizes just by heading down to Spinningfields next week.
In case you hadn’t heard, Spinningfields has just launched a brand-new app that’s now available to download, and in a bid to mark the occasion and properly celebrate this exciting launch, the city centre leisure and business district will be hosting an epic ‘Spin to Win’ event where there are hundreds of prizes to be won.
The new Spinningfields app is your ultimate guide to everything happening in the area, and it gives you access to special offers, fun monthly competitions, invitations to exciting events, community news, volunteering opportunities, and so much more.
Oh, and the best part about it? It’s free to download and sign up.
To celebrate the launch of our Spinningfields app, join us at Spinningfields Square between 8am and 5.30am on Tuesday 10 September. Download our FREE app, grab a FREE coffee from 92 Degrees (just for showing up), and spin to win some amazing prizes!
To start making the most of all of these exciting perks, you just need to download the Spinningfields app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone and verify your account, and then once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to head on down to Spinningfields Square next Tuesday (10 September) to spin the wheel for your chance to win some amazing prizes.
Some of the prizes on the jam-packed lineup include tickets to Chaos Karts and The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience, £100 vouchers for Australasia, £50 vouchers for Fazenda and The Ivy Spinningfields, plus free coffees, waffles, and doughnuts from Black Sheep Coffee.
You could also win yourself some complimentary cosmetic treatments at The Medika Clinic, as well as loads more, all by just spinning the wheel.
Spinningfields is celebrating the launch of its new app with a competition to win hundreds of free prizes / Credit: Supplied
And if the prizes somehow weren’t good enough to tempt you down to Spinningfields on their own, then luckily, there’ll also be a free freshly-brewed filter coffee for everyone who downloads the app and shows up on the day, while stocks last.
Basically, you’re guaranteed to walk away a winner no matter what.
The Spinningfields ‘Spin to Win’ official app launch is happening at Spinningfields Square on Tuesday 10 September from 8am to 5:30pm, and as organisers are anticipating the event will be busy one, it’s recommended that you download the app and verify your account before attending to ensure a smooth experience.
One of the UK’s largest art fairs to return to Manchester with more than 170 artists
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s largest art fairs is returning to Manchester this autumn, and will be bringing more than 170 artists together under one roof.
Manchester Art Fair has gone from strength to strength since it first began back in 2008.
Not only one of the UK’s largest but also one of the most significant art fairs, and by far one of the most celebrated cultural events in Greater Manchester‘s social calendar, the annual event is known and loved for bringing together more than 170 individual artists, galleries, and artist-led spaces to our city centre – with around 13,000 visitors attending each year.
This year’s festival will feature more new exhibitors than ever before – with over a third of all exhibitors making their inaugural appearance.
Manchester Art Fair is making a grand return to the city centre next month / Credit: Manchester Art Fair
Designed for the collector, the curator, and those who are simply curious, the event will also feature lots of returning galleries and artists too, all of whom will be showing new works.
Francis Iles Gallery and Linton 59 Gallery are among the newbies making their first appearance at the event in November, each showcasing works by an eclectic mix of UK and international artists, while Alec Cummings and Zoe Anker are just a couple of the stand-out names on the long list of individual artists who’ll be exhibiting.
And if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, this year’s event also features an extended programme of high-profile talks, immersive experiences, and workshops too.
Details of this year’s speakers are being kept under wraps for now, but organisers have, however, teased that the programme will feature some of the most notable names from the world of art, music, and culture to date – including more than one Northern first.
Manchester Art Fair’s Director, Sophie Helm, said the anticipation for this year’s event is “building”.
“The number of applications for this year’s edition surpassed all expectations, making for an extremely challenging selection process,” she commented.
More than 170 artists will gather together under one roof / Credit: Manchester Art Fair
“The final list of exhibitors is incredibly strong, presenting a more diverse range of work than ever before with a third of all exhibitors making their inaugural appearance at Manchester Art Fair.”
Manchester Art Fair 2024 will first open at Manchester Central with an exclusive preview night on Friday 15 November from 5-9pm, before it then continues on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November, with advance tickets starting from £12 plus booking fee.
Georgina Pellant -
16th May 2023 
