The latest occupier to take up residence at First Street has been announced today, with Kettlebell Kitchen completing the line-up of food and drink outlets at Manchester’s newest neighbourhood.
The arrival of the hugely popular clean-eating food operator completes the initial phase of the First Street estate which is located on Whitworth Street between Deansgate and Oxford Road stations.
Kettlebell Kitchen, which also has premises in Ancoats, will open this summer alongside other recent signings, Junkyard Golf Club and Masterchef winner Simon Wood’s Wood Manchester restaurant. Kettlebell’s signing sees all 32,000 sq ft of the retail, leisure, food and beverage units in phase one of First Street’s development scheme now complete.
Kettlebell Kitchen’s “eat clean, cheat clean” philosophy is set to satisfy the healthy appetites of visitors and hundreds of office staff who are based at First Street, alongside the growing student population which is taking up residence at VITA Student Living.
News of Kettlebell’s arrival at First Street, follows the announcement that Junkyard Golf Club will re-locate to the estate from its current temporary venue at Piccadilly Place and will be taking up its new permanent home at First Street in August.
The 20-acre First Street estate launched two years ago and was acquired by PATRIZIA in 2015. The new independent operator joins an already thriving neighbourhood with outlets including Gasworks Brew Bar, The Laundrette, The Liquor Store and The Indian Tiffin Room, offering day-to-night food and entertainment for occupiers and city visitors alike.
With First Street’s anchor occupier HOME attracting around 800,000 visitors in the last year and the 208-bed INNSIDE Manchester Hotel offering the opportunity to stay on site, First Street is fast-becoming a popular quarter of the city with a 24-hour a day, seven days a week offering.
First Street has also proven to be popular for businesses, with Amaze PLC, Auto Trader, Ford Credit Europe, Gazprom and Jacobs Engineering locating to the office building at Number One which is now home to over 1500 employees.
The latest Grade A office development on site, the 170,000 sq ft No8 First Street, will complete at the end of this year, and will see gas giant Gazprom move its staff to the top two floors of the building from its current home at No1 First Street. Five further retail units will be available on the ground floor of No8 when it completes.
Commenting on the lettings announcement Mike Tyler, Head of Asset Management at PATRIZIA UK, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Kettlebell Kitchen as the latest occupier to take up residence at First Street. It is another independent operator which will bring a complementary food and drink offering to First Street. The estate has proved to be a huge draw for visitors since it launched just over two years ago. First Street’s completed line up means that it has all of the right ingredients to be one of the city’s most popular leisure destinations.”