FRANCO Sotgiu, co-owner of Solita, is mucking in with the builders alongside business partner and Solita's resident handyman, Simon Pogson.
"P**s off, we're not ready for you yet," Sotgiu bellows over the clutter in Solita's big and bold new Didsbury den. Through the piled high cases of grog, timber and tools there's flashes of neon red, crisp pop-culture idols and Mondrian tiling.
"We did employ a design agency, but binned most of the ideas. Ours were better."
They're only a few hours from hosting a grand 500-strong launch party and Solita Didsbury is getting a final touch up. Phones buzz for the entire hour we're there. "People scrambling for an invite for tonight," Sotgiu grins. "We've got too many coming as it is."
Franco Sotgiu and Simon Pogson
Solita Didsbury
It's an impressive fit-out. The former Cibo site ("dangerous and grim when we got it", according to Sotgiu) on Didsbury's School Lane boasts an enviable spot by the Wilmslow Road junction and has afforded Sotgiu and Pogson heaps more space to play with than the original four-storey Northern Quarter Solita, opened to great success in the summer of 2012.
The new restaurant seats 140 covers spread across two girthy floors with a feature void in the middle where a 'SOLITA' hangs from the rafters in Broadway lighting.
"The design has changed everyday up until yesterday," Sotgiu tells me. "It's a design that's been fed by social media. I've been sticking idea after idea to a Pinterest board for months. We've posed Twitter comps to design neon lights - but most were crap so we used a quote from When Harry Met Sally instead.
Solita Didsbury
The 'cuts of beef' cow
"See that up there," Sotgiu points at a neon red 'cuts of beef' cow. "That idea we lifted from two notorious LA lesbian butchers, Lindy and Grundy. Those light fittings we bought from IKEA for £16 and painted ourselves (slow down Delboy). The wall art is by Manchester-illustrator Stan Chow and graffitist Russell Meehan.
"We did employ a design agency," he explains, "But binned most of the ideas. Ours were better."
Sotgiu's a bullish sort. He knows what he likes. To give him credit, it works.
But aside from heavy-handed pop-culture and Instagram-baiting, what is Solita bringing to the suburb?
"There's nothing like this in Didsbury, or Chorlton for that matter," says Sotgiu. "We're trying to bring a piece of the Northern Quarter to South Manchester."
Solita Didsbury
Stan Chow artwork
"Obviously we know Didsbury isn't the same kind of neighbourhood as the Northern Quarter so we expect the demographic to be different but people will come because it's a trendy place to be." Sotgiu continues. "We're expecting more young professionals and older couples alongside families.
So will the menu offering reflect that?
"The menu will be the same as the Northern Quarter (the BIG eat bankers: steaks, burgers, wings, hot dogs) but we've added more premium items like lobster fritters (£6.90) and more fish.
"Still, we're under no illusions, people will come for the burgers, to have a go at our famous Big Manc (£15.90)."
The Solita menu is shamelessly Americana, and flaunts it. From Rooster Scratchings (£2.90) to T'N'T Wings (£6.90) through to the Manc-Hattan Burger (£12.90). The ruthless march of Americana shows no signs of abating, yet. If it ain't broke...
Big Manc
Lobster fritters
Does Sotgiu worry interest will wane with such a big new space to fill?
"Yes we're testing the ground to see if the concept can travel out of the city, but all the early signs show Solita Didsbury will be busy," Sotgiu says. "We've already served 500 people - and that's before our proper opening."
Should the concept prove to travel well, Sotgiu and Pogson have already lined up sites in Liverpool (set for an autumn 2015 opening) and are close to signing for a site in North Manchester, "a 40 to 50 cover neighbourhood Solita to open in Spring 2015," Sotgiu smiles. "Then it's Hale."
Didsbury, Liverpool, North Manchester, Hale? In just over a year? For two big fellas they sure can move.
Follow @David8Blake on twitter.
Solita Didsbury opens at 6pm on Thursday 18 September. Menu here.
Solita, School Lane, Didsbury, M20 6RD. 0161 434 4884
Seven days a week, from midday 'til late on weekdays and from 10am 'til late on weekends.
Solita Didsbury
Solita Didsbury
Meehan mural
(image credits to Carl Sukonik at www.thevain.co.uk)
