IT’s official finally – the Mackie Mayor building on Swan Street is set to open its doors as a food hall destination mid-September.
Those secretive folk behind Altrincham Market House have kept pretty shtum about their latest food and drink-led regeneration project but have now split the beans on Facebook.
As expected, the MM trader line-up is led by key players from Altrincham with a sprinkling of new names. The likes of Tender Cow, their Mackie offspring Fin Fish Bar, Honest Crust Pizza and their offspring Little Window, Black Jack Brewery, Reserve Wines, Wolfhouse Kitchen and Nationale 7 are all recruiting staff (send your CV to [email protected]) for the new challenge.
And challenge it is to replicate the family-friendly, dog-friendly, towny vibe of Alty (below) on the edge of the very different Northern Quarter.
Still organisers Nick Johnson and Jenny Thompson sound typically upbeat in their FB proclamation: “No PRs, no 'A' list, no tantalising build-up, no false promise... just you and us and some talented, passionate people who care about what they do and aim to make you happy. That stance is a deliberate one...to put 'content' first, not 'brand' and celebrate an experience that simply isn't available online.
“We hope to open our doors in mid-late September with a softly, softly approach as we bed-in, so please treat us gently at first until we have learned a little more about the subtleties and intricacies that come from breathing life back into this truly amazing building and making it work for you. As with Market House we will operate a strict no-bookings policy so that you can turn up on the spur of the moment and pitch-in.... which is the way we like it.
“At Market House we can seat 180 people inside and we now feed nearly 10,000 people each week. At Mackie we'll have seating for over 400 people so the quest for a seat might be a little easier, we hope.”
ToM is glad to see such an independent destiny for for a Grade II listed Victorian gem that for too long has lain in limbo.
