FOR THOSE that had sounded the death knell for all that is sloppy in Americana, Northern Quarter-based burger merchants Solita continue to be the counterpoint.
Following eight months of graft and some fairly impressive profanity, Solita Prestwich is finally ready to go
Having taken over a flapping fishy restaurant down an NQ back alley in 2012, Solita have gone on to open an enormous site in Didsbury, a third on the main drag through Prestwich with a fourth to launch within Deansgate's lucrative Barton Arcade within six months.
Not bad going for owner Franco Sotgiu, whose experience of restaurants preceding Solita had involved selling them knives, sausage filler and sofas.
Now Sotgiu, the accomplished restaurateur (and world's biggest self-promoter - Gordo), alongside business partner Simon Pogson, is primed to launch Solita Prestwich in the former Aumbry site on Bury New Road - a site which by all accounts has proven to be a right royal pain in the arse. "The building was utterly f**ked," said a soiled Sotgiu during a recent walkabout. "The bloody roof nearly caved in."
Still, following eight months of graft and some fairly impressive profanity (anyone heard the expression twatcakes before? No us neither), Solita Prestwich is finally ready to go.
And doesn't it look a bobby dazzler...
Solita Prestwich"We've got the UK's first ever Marvel comic book neon ceiling," beams Sotgiu. "We've brought in Manchester-based New Yorker Magazine illustrator Stanley Chow, local graffiti artist Russell Mehan and Bolton's Neon creations to design this place.
Neon Franco, where?
"We've also splashed around some historic images of Prestwich," Sotgiu continues, "over there we've got the beloved old Astoria theatre that stood close to hear until the sixties."
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The 40,000 sq ft, 140-cover bar and restaurant will serve up Solita's signature fare: INKA-grilled steaks, best-selling McDonalds rip-off (sorry... 'tribute') the Big Manc, wings, waffles, dogs, doughnuts and dunkers - menu here.
Following a 'launch with a difference' ("We didn't want all the usual velvet-rope-loving miserly VIPs," says Sotgiu) - with all ticket sale proceeds going to homelessness charity Not Just Soup - Solita Prestwich will open on Saturday 22 August for a two-week soft launch period.
HERE'S HOW SHE LOOKS...
