GRUB to take space at Stretford Mall
The street food and events business has its eye on the ground floor of the shopping centre’s multi-storey car park after closing its Manchester home when plans for a 43-storey tower on the site emerged.
GRUB, based at Red Bank in Manchester for several years, is in line to operate a 300-capacity venue on the ground floor of the MSCP at Stretford Mall, according to planning documents lodged with Trafford Council.
The scheme would “provide a vibrant space operated by GRUB, designed to revitalise vacant space in the town centre”, according to a cover letter prepared by consultant Avison Young.
The venue would open in time for the World Cup and operate six days a week, offering “a rotating lineup of street food traders, pop-up vendors, and cultural programming like live music and art shows”, the cover letter states.
It is hoped GRUB’s arrival could drive footfall and generate commercial interest in the remaining units on King Street, the first part of Bruntwood and Trafford Council’s plans to regenerate the shopping complex to complete.
King Street offers more than 86,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space. The ground floor of the MSCP offers a further 20,000 sq ft, around 6,000 sq ft of which would be home to GRUB.
Chris Houghton, head of commercial at Bruntwood said: “We are excited to be bringing a new community space by GRUB to Stretford town centre. Our joint ambition is to create a brilliant new hub of independent street food, activity and culture in the heart of the town centre. It will mark a significant moment in the evolution of Stretford as we continue creating a vibrant destination for the whole community to enjoy.”
Jason Bailey, director of GRUB added: “We’re really excited to step outside of the city centre and into Stretford. It’s somewhere we’ve had our eye on for a while, so this feels like a brilliant opportunity to bring what GRUB does best into a new neighbourhood. The ambition is to create a true community hub and a real destination for local people, somewhere that champions independents, supports grassroots culture and adds long term energy to the town centre.”
