Major UK restaurant brand, Cosy Club, has secured space in the first phase of the Chester Northgate development for one of its quirky and eccentric restaurants.
New to Chester, the 180-cover Cosy Club restaurant will be in Hunter’s Walk, an arcade that is soon to be formed from the old library building to link Town Hall Square with a new public space in front of the relocated market and the Picturehouse cinema. Cosy Club’s 5,500 sqft unit on ground and first floor levels will face onto Town Hall Square in close proximity to both the city’s Cathedral and the newly opened cultural centre, Storyhouse.
The Council’s £37 million investment in Storyhouse – which incorporates an 800-seat auditorium,150-seat studio theatre, library and a 100-seat arts cinema – has paved the way for Chester Northgate. With anticipated visitor numbers per annum of more than 350,000, the new cultural centre had 10,000 visitors over its first weekend earlier this month.
Charlie Seward, Deputy Chief Executive (Places) at Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “This is another big step towards the Northgate development, on the day Chester’s new Bus Interchange opens to all passengers for the first time.
“Chester Library moving into the fabulous Storyhouse and the Town Hall bus exchange relocation are both significant elements of our investment in a vibrant Chester.”
The combination of Storyhouse and Chester Northgate’s 715-seat Picturehouse cinema – also complemented by the new Crowne Plaza hotel and the Cathedral (230,000 visitors p.a.) will create a unique and very powerful leisure attraction that will undoubtedly stimulate huge customer demand for the adjacent food and beverage outlets being provided by the Chester Northgate development.
David Lewis, Executive Director of Rivington Land – the Council’s development manager – said: “Securing Cosy Club is another great example of how Chester Northgate will attract many new brands to the city centre and thereby enhance its vitality and long-term sustainability.”
Cosy Club has taken the unit on a 15-year lease. The brand is operated by Loungers, who also own ‘the Lounge’ neighbourhood café-bars. There are 20 Cosy Club restaurants across the country including York, Manchester, Liverpool, Bath, Exeter and Cheltenham.
As an all-day café-bar operation with an eclectic style, the new Chester Cosy Club restaurant will offer breakfasts, coffees and lunches before morphing into a restaurant-bar for evening trade. The restaurant is expected to open during 2018.
Anchored by a 100,000 sqft House of Fraser department store and a six-screen Picturehouse cinema, the £300 million Chester Northgate development is set to provide a range of 50 new shops and major stores, around 15 new cafés and restaurants, a 4-star Crowne Plaza hotel & conference centre, the city’s largest car park and up to 70 homes.
JLL is the leasing agent acting for Chester Northgate.
