Glossop based operator Phil Healey is set to open his first city centre site with a new two floor venue which will bring modern British food and a basement bar to Booth Street.

1761 on the ground floor will see a 130 cover restaurant come to the site which was formerly Avalanche.  1761 is the date that signifies the birth of the Industrial Revolution in Manchester and saw important developments such as the opening of the Bridgewater Canal which is often described as England’s first canal.

The restaurant will serve modern British food and drink inspired by the city’s industrial past, in a beautiful environment. Guests can expect comforting dishes from corned beef hash to enormous open sandwiches piled high with salt beef and gherkins alongside popcorn cockles and oysters.

Lily’s Bar has been designed to create the sense of stepping back in time.  Guests will be greeted by Lily’s image as they come through the door and downstairs they will find the ultimate escape from the city above.  

Welcoming, luxurious and cosy in design, the bar will offer luxurious cocktails and bucket loads of champagne and champagne cocktails.  Drinks will take the theme of ‘a moment in time’ with each one inspired by a story from our past. 

For example Sparkling Cyanide is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, all is not how it seems, it’s the only cyanide that will make you feel better.

The room will be surrounded by a huge marine fish tank with 18,000 litres of water in it.

The original plan was for it to be stocked with live stingrays but after much negative comment on social media, Phil Healey said;

“Listening to Manchester’s comments across social media we have decided not to have stingrays in our fish tank.  Even though the tank will be huge and we are confident that it would provide the right amount of space for the rays to thrive – it will have 118,000 litres of water – we don’t wish to upset or offend anyone and can see that there are people who would object. So this was the right choice for us.”

The bar will also feature Lily’s Library – a secret drinking den available for private hire complete with its own bar, projector and fireplace.

Phil, who has owned the Victoria Lounge in Glossop for three years, grew up in Belle Vue in the shadow of Belle Vue Zoo and is a Mancunian through and through.  “I wanted to create something that is truly of this city. For me the whole concept of 1761 is something that has come from Manchester, in Manchester, for Manchester. It’s not cheesy or themed but about creating a real feeling of pride and warmth for this city. Or of course people can just come to see the fishes!”

Phil has brought together a top class team of hospitality names to bring his dream alive. Spearheading the project from start to finish, General Manager Emma Greathead has worked in the city for seven years, most recently for local operators Beautiful Drinks (Almost Famous/ Home Sweet Home).

Emma says: “This has been such an exciting project to work on and I was hooked from the second I met Phil. We hope to create something really exciting to reinvigorate this huge space which has been empty for so long. The menu is really enticing and we hope it will bring something a bit different to the people who live and work in the area. It’s really important to us that we source as much fresh produce as we can from independant Manchester businesses.  Plus our menu will change daily, driven by freshness, seasonality and quality of the ingredients available to us.”

Emma’s team includes Head Chef Oliver Walker. Salfordian Oliver won Scottish Young Chef Of The Year as an apprentice and has worked with some of the city’s best operators. Talking about the menu he has created he said; “For me this menu is all about Manchester as a place. I want to create dishes which are industrially inspired, using great local suppliers, while bringing back some traditional home comforts such as good old Manchester caviar (mushy peas).”

The bar manager is Jon Kloman who again, has worked for some of the best operators in the city, has been working hard to develop menus that represent both concepts.

Jon said; “1761 is very much about the city’s identity and culture, whereas Lily’s is based a lot more around ‘The Golden Era’ – a place where you can loose yourself for hours. Having researched into different historical movements and artistic cultures we will deliver moments in time which will resinate with customers, using abstract references to help tell a story. This combined with full table service in a relaxed atmosphere will give the customer an experience to remember, for sure’

The restaurant will open daily for brunch, lunch and dinner, 11am-10pm and Lily’s will be open from 12pm to 12am daily. 

Both will open to the public for the first time on Monday 13 November.  This will be proceeded by two invite only showcase complimentary dinners on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th November at the end of the evening  guests will be given the option to donate to our two charity’s We Love Manchester Memorial Fund and Centre point the support of homeless young people.

The refurbishment cost in excess of £1m and has seen the creation 40 new jobs in the city centre. The project has been completed by working with as many local companies as possible; from the drapes which are hand made locally to over 500 pieces of furniture which have been hand crafted by Glossop based Company No 9 who have expanded and recruited 2 apprentices as a result of the commission. 

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