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
Manchester’s Cat Cafe issues lengthy response to anti-industry statement
Danny Jones
Manchester’s soon-to-return Cat Cafe has shared a lengthy statement responding to the recent suggestion made by leading animal charities that their particular line of business should become a thing of the past.
Cat Cafe Manchester (CCM) closed its city centre premises back in January 2021 like so many others suffering from the post-pandemic struggle, but there are still several other feline-focused coffee shops and similar set-ups located up and down the country.
With that in mind and after the Manchester location announced a comeback later this year – in a prime location on Deansgate, no less – the discussion surrounding the niche industry has turned to issues regarding animal rights, welfare and overall quality of life.
However, rather than simply firing back at the likes of the RSPCA and Cats Protection over their concerns and belief that these venues should be “phased out”, the company has come out to agree with their overarching point whilst still assuring that their sites “are different”.
As you can see in an extensive reply, the brand begins by writing: “We are in strong agreement that there needs to be more regulation in the industry, as we believe many cafes are operating in manners that are harmful to cats.”
They detail how they don’t support ventures that operate by simply piggybacking on vital animal rescue procedures, citing that around 90% of the UK’s cat cafes simply ship prospective pets in and out, creating a stressful environment for its furry residents.
In contrast, Cat Cafe MCR go on to insist that “cats in our cafes are pedigree, as they are best suited to an indoor-only environment [as opposed to rescues who often benefit from outdoor time], and they are bred for temperament, meaning our cats need a lot of attention from people, and also enjoy the company of other cats.
“Our cafes have windows for natural light and there is plenty of space off the cafe floor for cats to get away from customers. They are provided with enough resources spread out throughout a very large building to reduce any competitive behaviour. Our cats are never ever kept in cages – as is the case in some Cat Cafes.”
CCM also explained how the behaviour of their in-house cats is analysed weekly, adding that “if we feel any cat in our cafe is not happy and is showing signs of stress, we would immediately remove them from the environment.”
Besides the obvious soothing quality of the experience for regular customers, cafes like theirs and the canine equivalent CuppaPug in Salford are extremely helpful in providing animal-assisted therapy for people struggling with mental health conditions and those categorised as neurodiverse.
Cat Cafe drew their response to a close by inviting both of the charities in question to work with them in creating new guidelines and strict rules when it comes to animal welfare in these spaces.
They concluded by declaring that not only are they “incredibly difficult to run responsibly” when done properly but that “Cat Cafes are not all the same, and they should not be opened without serious thought and consideration for the cats’ welfare.”
We are still unclear as to when exactly Cat Cafe Manchester will reopen but all we know is that the team will be as dedicated to providing an enjoyable experience for both the animals and visitors when it does.
Mini Mancs can learn what life is like for animals at the Science and Industry Museum this spring
Emily Sergeant
Science shows, sensory activities, and a blockbuster exhibition are just some of the things you can do at one of the region’s best loved museums this spring.
With Easter right around the corner, and schools across Greater Manchester and beyond set to be out for the spring break in a couple of weeks time, parents and carers will likely be looking for ways to keep the kids educated and entertained at the same time, especially if those classic Manchester April showers start to show themselves.
Even better if the activities are suitable for mini Mancs of all ages, and you don’t have to break the bank too much either.
By far one of the best places to escape the rain with your little ones in the city centre, the Science and Industry Museum has got a spectacular spring holiday programme packed with all sorts of things to be getting up to.
With the events programme running from Saturday 5 right through to the Easter Monday bank holiday on Monday 21 April, animal-loving visitors will discover what life is like for our furry friends by challenging their sense of touch in a special agility course, and watching live science shows led by the museum’s expert team of Explainers.
Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum has unveiled its spring holidays events lineup / Credit: Science Museum Group
Families can also take a break in the bat cave to learn more about these nocturnal creatures’ super senses, as well as make their very-own bat to take home.
Of course, while you’re there at the museum this spring holidays, it’s the perfect time to visit the Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You if you haven’t had the chance to already, or loved it so much the first time that you’re keen to go again.
If learning about the senses isn’t really your bag though, you can explore five decades of play in the ultimate gaming experience, Power Up, and discover just how far computer games have come over the years.
There’s science shows, sensory activities, a blockbuster exhibition, and loads more / Credit: Science Museum Group
“We’re delighted to be celebrating the senses this spring,” commented Chris Hill, who is the Public Programmes Producer at the Science and Industry Museum.
“We’re inviting everyone to see the science in the world around us by learning something new about your furry friends at home or creatures that live around the world. From tasting like a bee, being sneezed out of a giant nose, or testing your reaction times in Power Up, it’s going to be sense-sational.”
Georgina Pellant -
16th May 2023 
