Manchester’s party people celebrated in style as iconic rappers Brian ‘Fast’ Leiser and Frank Benbiri from the famous Scooby Snacks band took to the decks at the 4,500 sq ft converted shipping warehouse on Princess Street.
Guests tucked into the eatery’s hallmark Urban Legend burgers, washed down with plenty of tipples including their trademarkRhubarb Sling Thing, Staten Island Iced Tea and Heyyy Honey cocktails, as the funksters played New York House and hip hop, including classic numbers from their Limelight club days until 2am.
“We are an authentic taste of downtown Manhattan so we just wanted to do something brilliant to celebrate our first year,” said owner Tim Coulston.
“Getting Fast and Frank from the Fun Lovin’ Criminals down was the icing on the cake. We had a brilliant time last night and now we’re set to do it all again tonight for our customers and anyone who wants to see what Urban Cookhouse is about.”
Brian and Frank will be banging out the tunes again from 8pm tonight, Friday April 15. And there are drink offers from 5pm until 8pm, including two beers or two glasses of prosecco for £5 and bottles of wine or two cocktails for £10.
The party is to celebrate Urban Cookhouse’s hugely successful first year and Tim is now planning to expand with a further three sites.
“It’s been a fantastic first year and I’m delighted Urban Cookhouse has made its mark on Manchester’s restaurant and bar scene, especially when you consider there’s been nearly 30 new sites opened in the city centre within the last 12 months” said the 28-year-old entrepreneur, who also heads experiential catering company Violet Hospitality.
The 250-capacity loft-style site inspired him to create a cool, authentic New York destination, boasting an 85-cover casual dining area that offers brunch through to dinner, carry-out and corporate catering, and a mouth-watering menu of NYC delicacies including Freddy’s ribs, wings, dogs and disco fries and new Scooby Stacks pancakes in honour of FLC.
With a late license (open until midnight weekdays and 2am Thursday to Saturday), a trademark loft lounge and bar and extensive cocktail list, it’s a favourite destination for Manchester’s office workers, students and gay village habitués.
“Urban Cookhouse’s location means we tap into different markets throughout the day which is one of the reasons for our success,” says Tim. “And we’ve made some huge changes to the concept since opening to ensure we appeal to more people. We simplified the menu making the dining experience casual and on trend, and it’s gone down a storm – we actually made our milestone 10,000th Urban Legend burger a month ago!”
Tim is now looking for a further three sites to open in 2016. “We’ve seen a few sites but nothing has stood out so far. We’d like to expand the Urban Cookhouse brand within the North West, and also develop some different bar concepts for Manchester.”
For further information visit www.urbancookhouse.co.uk or follow on twitter @cookhouseMCR, Facebook/CookhouseMCR. Follow Tim on Twitter @TimCoulston