The man behind Ma Boyle's takes a bite of the Big Apple
Start spreading the news, a huge new brunch, lunch, cocktail and craft beer destination inspired by New York’s meatpacking district is coming to Liverpool’s business district.
Tempest on Tithebarn is the latest food and drink offering from the Ma Pub Group, home to the beloved Ma Boyle’s Alehouse & Eatery that celebrated its 150th Birthday last year.
Most other CBDs are incredibly dry - full of chains and tend to become ghost towns during the evenings or weekends. Liverpool’s offering is very different
The 5000 square foot space in the former Hus cafe bar unit of Capital & Centric’s Tempest Building on Tithebarn Street has copious outside space. There's a glorious roof-top space, perfect for the kind of socially distanced al fresco dining we were able to enjoy last summer in spite of the pandemic. We’re looking forward to much more of that once the storm of covid finally blows over.
Inside, there are large ground floor and basement events spaces too, so loads to play with on a quarter of a million pound refurb budget. It will be great to see how it turns out when it opens, hopefully around Easter.
So what’s it going to be like then? The meatpacking district is known for everything from Korean food to Italian food as well as huge markets with jostling street food stalls showcasing the bounteous culinary delights of New York’s huge diasporic population. Is it going to be another food hall? In a word, no. You can expect a massive emphasis on brunch - especially of the popular bottomless persuasion and a very American main menu with burgers as well as smaller plates for nibbling.
Iain Hoskins from The Ma Group says: “The café bar unit at the Tempest building is an incredible space, with the addition of some fantastic outside areas that are an absolute premium for the times we are living in right now. Tempest on Tithebarn will be an exciting addition for the business community, with which we already have a longstanding relationship, having run Ma Boyle’s locally for the past six years."
He continues, "Liverpool’s business district is unlike any other UK city’s CBD because it’s so diverse – you have the commercial element interwoven with a heavy student offering as well as the great variety of residential, hotels and leisure mix - and being only a stone’s throw from the docks and Liverpool One. Most other CBDs are incredibly dry - full of chains and tend to become ghost towns during the evenings or weekends. Liverpool’s offering is very different and what we’ll be providing is a really rounded offer that appeals to all of that. The Tempest Building boasts some incredible creative companies and the building is a real hub alongside the many new developments in Old Hall Street’s Capitol Building and Exchange Station/Pall Mall office scheme."
"The lack of footfall created by the pandemic is a worry and will continue to be so until we fully know that we have beaten Covid-19 and office staffing levels return to normal." Continues Ian, "However, as we’ve found with Ma Boyle’s, the weekday office trade is actually only one of many parts that will make up our core audience. At its heart, great food, coffee and drinks, along with the incredible homely service that has made people keep coming back to Ma Boyle’s is what will drive this new business.”
With the job market, especially in the hospitality world, suffering right now, it’s great news that this new venture is likely to employ up to 40 part and full-time staff.
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