Gutmann to bring ninth Korova bar to Liverpool One

Rob Gutmann, the trend-setting Liverpool bar operator, has signed to take a large unit on the leisure terrace of Chavasse Park in the heart of Grosvenor's Liverpool One.

Gutmann's Korova Corporation will bring an as yet unnamed bar and restaurant to a 7,200 sq ft unit at the Terrace overlooking the five-acre park and the Albert Dock.

Gutmann is synonymous with the rise of the city's designer bar culture with numerous successes behind him: Blue Bar & Grill, Alma de Cuba, Korova, Babycream, Negresco, Pan American Club and Circo among them.

Several have been sold on but parent group Korova still controls nine venues in Liverpool including Albert Dock-based Circo and Raven. However, the group recently said sales in its smaller pubs, which include suburban outlets in south Liverpool, had been badly hit by the pub industry downturn and rescue packages were being discussed with advisers.

On today's announcement, Neil Barber, head of retail leasing at Grosvenor, said: "We're very pleased to be hosting another of Korova Corporations' unique venues on the Terrace at Liverpool One, an equally unique location. Rob Gutmann invented the café bar culture in Liverpool and we are certain that his new venture will complement other well-known catering brands already lined-up for Liverpool One's grand opening later this year."

Gutmann said: "People have come to respect that we don't settle for the ordinary in the bars and restaurants we produce, and we feel that Liverpool One is no mainstream shopping development.

"Liverpool One is creating a whole new eating and drinking destination in the heart of the city, and we felt we had to be a part of it. We are proud of Liverpool, and proud of what we have contributed to it, with our now long history of opening places for people to wine and dine, and socialise in.

"It has been a long road for us since opening the Lyceum Cafe bar in 1994, to Blue Bar, Alma de Cuba, and more recently Circo and Raven, so it feels entirely fitting that as the city celebrates culture year with a regeneration statement as significant as Liverpool One is, that the Korova group come to the party."

The new Korova venue will be part of the grand opening of Liverpool One on 30 September, when the balance of the retail space opens along with a 14-screen Odeon cinema, restaurant areas, cafes and bars, office space and the park. Caterers already signed up include Wagamama, Zizzi, Pizza Hut, Las Iguanas, Café Rouge and Gourmet Burger Kitchen, most of which are new to Liverpool.