It was hard to keep my lips sealed when I first heard the rumours, it was even harder when I found out it was true… but now I’m very pleased to be welcoming Saturday Kitchen host and renowned chef James Martin to Manchester235.
He has taken over our Linen restaurant and will be looking to provide some of the best cuisine in the city to gamblers and foodies alike.
The restaurant will be rebranded as James Martin Manchester (you would put your own name on your restaurant if you could…).
It’s a big venue – we have 170 covers – so we’ve been scouring the region and beyond to employ the best team we can.
We’re all set for a big launch at the end of September, we just need to fine-tune the new staff and we’ll be ready to go.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet had time to meet the man himself – who knows, he could be saying that about me!
Of course, I joke. But we should be seeing Mr Martin at least every two weeks, so he’s going to be very hands-on with the restaurant.
It may be a bit daunting having a TV star telling us how he wants things done, but we want this restaurant to be the best in the city.
We’re hoping for some more trade through the week now because you will all be able to see that we’re much more than just a casino!
However, this damned beautiful weather means that our new bar The Vega Lounge has recently been bypassed for the heady realms of outside – a very rare event in Manchester, so I don’t blame you.
But the bar has still kept us very busy and I’m grateful to all of you guys who have checked it out so far.
If you haven’t, then what are you waiting for!?
And in other news, I now have the pleasure of living in Manchester, which gives me a chance to check out the competition.
We have a great restaurant and bar scene here, which means we’re kept on our toes and that’s a great thing for everybody concerned.
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
