Soho House is heading to Manchester for the first time, marking a big move into the north for the exclusive members club.
The hotly anticipated new Manchester location is currently being built in the Old Granada Studios building and it is hoped will be open by the end of 2022.
Whilst we already knew it was coming, excitement around the new opening has gathered pace after more details were revealed by its founder at the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show this week.
Image: Soho House
Speaking at the trade event, held at the city centre’s Manchester Central complex, founder Nick Jones said he wanted to provide more locations for members outside of central London and admitted he was ‘nervous’ to open up a branch in Manchester.
Promising that the new Manchester house will be weighted towards 80% of local memberships, he was at pains to emphasise the importance of making it a local’s haunt – with programming and music chosen by and for Mancunians.
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Speaking in Manchester this week, he said: “There will be an element of glamour to the place, but with an element of grit too. We have a lot of local people working with us, so the programming will be local, the music [will be local]”
During Nick’s talk, which saw him interviewed by NRB CEO Thom Hetherington, he also revealed that the new club will feature a number of restaurants including A-list celeb Italian favourite Cecconi’s.
Known as a favoured haunt of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Jason Statham, Nick Grimshaw, Kate Moss and Lindsay Lohan here in the UK, Cecconi’s abroad are equally as popular with celebs – with the West Hollywood location frequented by the likes of Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres and Gwen Stefani.
He also revealed that the club will be spread across three floors and will house a rooftop pool, an outdoor terrace area, and a music venue and club space.
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Just beneath the Soho House development will be a second venue, Mollie’s, due to launch next year.
Mollie’s Manchester will boast upwards of 140 rooms, a 164-cover diner restaurant, cocktail bar, event space, lounge, workplace and an outdoor terrace.
It will be the third and largest Mollie’s site to date, following launches in Oxford and Bristol, and promises tospan 100sq ft in the iconic TV Studios building, central to Manchester’s buzzing social scene – marking Mollie’s and Soho House Manchester a firm place to be seen in the city.
Soho House Manchester will be located above Mollie’s, with a club and rooftop pool on the building’s top floors.
The Manchester house will be Soho’s fourth venue outside London, following on from the most recent Brighton location which opens on the coast this month.
Further openings on the horizon include a second London location south of the river in Balham, and international houses in Bangkok, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Miami. Currently, the group has 27 global locations.
Feature image – Soho House
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Castlefield is being transformed into Gotham amidst more Hollywood filming in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Castlefield, with its iconic viaduct and cobbled streets, is once again being used for big-budget filming as the latest Batman/DC Universe title, Clayface, looks to be setting up in the eye-catching Manc corner.
Whether it’s football kit reveals and brand shoots, BBC dramas or the next upcoming Netflix series, production crews can’t get enough of Castlefield, it would seem.
For those who hadn’t heard, work on the new Clayface movie revolving around the cult favourite Batman villain is well underway, and the North West has been used as the backdrop on multiple ocassions this month already.
You can see early glimpses of the set being put together down below.
Come on, how cool is it that we get to stumble on stuff like this right on our doorstep so often?
Speaking to The Manc, a source detailed that the set is being assembled today (Tuesday, 16 September) ahead of a single day of principal photography on what we can only assume is more Clayface filming sometime tomorrow.
While she could not confirm with us directly, she said, “If you’re a comic book nerd and look at the posters, you’ll be able to figure it out.” We’ve certainly been studying all the easter eggs already.
It might not quite be as dark and gritty as Gotham City, but this particular part of Manchester has been used in TV and film – especially period dramas – many times for good reason.
The Victorian-era steel structure, dark red brick and overall industrial aesthetic work so well when it comes to creating a believable and cinematic world.
Besides perhaps the most famous instance of Peaky Blinders shooting in these parts, you can add multiple music videos, several Manchester United and Man City shirt launches, and so many more that we’re starting to lose track.
As for Clayface, this isn’t even the first time the upcoming DC ‘body-horror’ flick has popped up in Greater Manchester.
Last week saw the equally striking Art Deco facade of the old The Plaza Super Cinema in Stockport turned into a fictional movie premiere to stunning effect:
Speaking of, another childhood favourite is filming here in Manchester right now, too.
Besides perhaps the most famous instance of Peaky Blinders shooting in these parts, the new Narnia adaptation by Greta Gerwig may just be one of the biggest projects that has ever landed underneath the familiar ‘birdcage’.
ln fact, it just so happens that there are actually multiple noteworthy small and silver screen works fighting over the Castlefield shooting schedule at the moment…
Manchester City staff member sacked after wearing Man United shirt to shift
Danny Jones
Man City have divided a fair few supporters after they sacked a barman for wearing a United shirt to their shift during the Manchester derby.
Although it’s not exactly surprising, the decision has ruffled plenty of feathers on both sides, as well as among neutral fans.
The Blues emerged victorious in the 197th clash between the two local rivals, winning 3-0 on an evening that paid tribute to the late, great Ricky Hatton, but another backstory looming over the fixture that caught the attention of football fans online was the City staff member who lost his job.
Working on concessions inside the Etihad Stadium before the game, the barman was made known to the official MCFC Matchday Support channel on X, who quickly confirmed he had been let go before the game even began.
In the since-deleted post, the home fan who reported the worker wrote: “Absolute joke – letting one of the bar staff in block 315 wear a United shirt on Derby Day.”
Although many City fans applauded the fast action by the club on the day, it’s fair to say that sacking him so soon that he didn’t even last until kick-off has rubbed many others the wrong way.
One Liverpool fan commented: “I hate United way more than City, but to sack him from a job because of an item of clothing is crazy. So, so poor from Manchester City, this. It’s just football lads, he’s not wearing a political or derogatory symbol. It’s literally a football team…”
Another neutral added: “Getting a minimum wage worker sacked for having a bit of fun instead of just winding him up is the absolute sad state this country is in.”
Even the ‘Out Of Context Football Manager‘ parody account chipped in, writing: “The guy’s been sacked for this. All he needed was a formal warning. I get he’s taking the p*ss – but losing a salary he might really need over this?!
While many have been even more outspoken in their response, as you can see, many supporters – be they Red or otherwise – have come up with arguably the perfect solution:
Manchester City are yet to comment on the backlash, apart from the initial confirmation that the still-anonymous staff member has been released from his position, but as for Man United, simply sticking him on the kiosks in the Stretford End could prove to be a very easy bit of positive PR.
Besides the growing frustration around the fanbase, as Ruben Amorim has yet to turn things around at Old Trafford (pressure was growing even before the derby day defeat), the Red Devils could no doubt do with some positive press for a change.
In fact, it was only earlier this year that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada and the wider INEOS Sports administration sanctioned a second round of redundancies at United, with approximately 450 individuals losing their jobs.
That being said, although some have labelled the sacking of the now ex-City barman as “absolutely horrendous behaviour” for Man City, many jumped to quip back that “[United are] more likely to sack more bar staff, not hire them”, as well as simultaneously taking aim at their significant transfer spending.
Georgina Pellant -
17th March 2022 
