NORTHERN Quarter tea, cake and gluten-free specialists, Tea 42, are set to launch their second premises in The Village.
"It is also great to be talking positively about investing in The Village following the spate of recent closures"
The new venue, MCR 42, will open this Spring in the former-Genghis Khan's Mongolian Grill site on the corner of Chorlton Street and Richmond Street.
Owners Will Hannah and Jason Abbot say they hope to create a Manchester 'Tea Quarter' in the area, with the Manchester Food and Drink Awards 2014 'Best Tea Shop' winners, Richmond Tea Rooms, only a few doors away.
The former-Mongolian Grill site
The nineteenth-century warehouse building will undergo a 'lavish' £500k conversion creating a flagship two-floor venue for the brand, with Hannah and Abbot planning a 20-site Tea 42 expansion across the UK.
MCR 42 will provide 250-covers over its two floors, with a main ground floor restaurant for day and evening diners, and a basement lounge and bar space reserved for lighter dining, after-dinner drinks and private hire.
MCR 42 restaurant
MCR 42 lounge and bar
Hannah told Confidential:
“Having successfully trialled the 42 concept over the past fifteen months and developed the pilot site on High Street we are really excited to be opening our new flagship in the heart of the Village.
"The Village has been an important part of our lives for many years so we are delighted to be able to take our casual fine dining and drinking to Chorlton St, delivering a much needed fresh concept into the village.
"It is also great to be talking positively about investing in The Village following the spate of recent closures.”
Owners Will Hannah (left) and Jason Abbot (right) with actress Michelle Collins
Hannah and Abbot say customers should expect the same splashes of leather and stylish drop lighting fixtures, but with a 'slightly darker and more mysterious element'.
The venue will also boast a walk-in wine fridge, 'SNUG' area and dressing room for 'impromptu-entertainment'.
MCR 42 will also create 50 new jobs in The Village.
This is great news for The Village, with established bars Eden and Taurus both having uncertain starts to 2015, the arrival of a respected and proven operator with big plans and a vested interest in the area could prove to be the confidence The Village needs to kick-on once more.
MCR 42 will open at 16 Chorlton Street, The Village, Manchester M1 3HW.
