Circle Square Sees Out Record Year With a Raft of New Openings

• Ten new brands joined the Circle Square neighbourhood in 2024 as hospitality pioneers boost Manchester city centre destination

• Doug’s Norwegian eatery scheduled to open before the end of the year and Meatworks in the new year
  Amber’s live music venue, and Half Dozen Other bakery now open

• Three more new brands on the horizon for 2025

Circle Square, Manchester’s innovative new neighbourhood, is celebrating a record year of new arrivals with ten hospitality, retail and leisure operators joining the destination in 2024. The new additions represent some of the north’s most innovative, independent brands boosting Circle Square’s reputation as a leading food & leisure destination and its appeal to a diverse mix of audiences including younger visitors and the city’s workforce.

The eight acre Circle Square site, which includes one of the city’s largest green spaces, Symphony Park, has seen increased investment from owners Bruntwood SciTech and Vita Group resulting in the destination now being home to 23 independent hospitality and leisure brands including four national operators. The joint venture agreed terms and successfully opened over 33,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space over the last 12 months. All of this comes in addition to 25,000 sq ft of commercial lettings completed by the Bruntwood SciTech team in 2024 including Avalere Health’s move to the campus. 2025 will see further investment into the site with the £87m No.3 Circle Square due to open next Spring, which will include space for further retail and hospitality brands.

December will see Circle Square close the year with the arrival of Doug’s, the Norwegian smash burger brand, who are set to open a flagship restaurant at the destination, choosing Circle Square as its first UK location. The Oslo-based brand is led by the team behind successful hospitality businesses Madre, Medlock Canteen and Breddo’s in London. The restaurant will be open for dine in and takeout from 11am daily and will serve up their signature Oklahoma style burgers plus their ‘Happier Meal’ option where burger and fries comes with a martini.

MeatWorks is an independent, modern steakhouse serving classic steaks, bold small plates and big burgers. The brand is planning to open at Symphony Gardens at Circle Square in early January.

Other hospitality brands to join the destination this year include Detroit Slims - a brand new quick service pizza concept from the team behind hospitality industry pioneers Diecast, Ramona and The Firehouse. The city’s first Detroit Slims opened in October serving up over 10,000 pizzas during their opening week. Hand crafted pasta kitchen Onda also opened its first permanent venue at Circle Square in June. Having grown a huge following online (with over 233K followers on Instagram), the brand, known for its handmade pasta and viral “tiramisu drawer" chose the destination for its first full service restaurant and has served over 10,000 portions of tiramisu since it opened its doors.

The Circle Square community has been bolstered by two new leisure operators in 2024 with Restart Pilates providing a reformer pilates experience; the second site for the female founded, Manchester-based independent business. National gym and fitness franchise, Jetts Gym opened in August transforming the large, underground 7000 sq ft unit into a 24/7 access gym and fitness club.

2024 also saw UK-wide grab and go bagel brand, Bagel Factory, join the Circle Square neighbourhood in August, and independent self service beer, wine and pizza bar Tap House - the city’s only ‘pour your own pint’ experience opened up in July.

Charlotte Wild, Head of Retail & Leisure for Bruntwood SciTech commented:

“It’s been a phenomenal year for Circle Square and we’re delighted to have added such an exciting mix of hospitality and leisure pioneers to the neighbourhood. Our vision has always been to celebrate and reflect the area’s extraordinary heritage for innovation. We set out to create a place that is inspiring and welcoming in equal measure and this exceptional mix of independent and national brands, each with their own exciting story to tell, has brought that ambition to life. Now with a full day-to-night experience on offer - from breakfast, brunch and fitness, right through to dinner and drinks, Circle Square has become one of the city’s most exciting neighbourhoods for people to live, work and play and we can’t wait to see what 2025 will bring.”

Max Bielby from Vita Group added:

“It’s been a big year for the Circle Square neighbourhood as the destination continues to thrive and become an ever-more exciting place for visitors and the community alike. The diverse and eclectic offering means there is always something new to discover, whilst the mix of operators and retailers that we have welcomed over the past 12 months have created a compelling reason to visit. With even more to come in 2025 it's exciting to see the neighbourhood
flourish"

Paddy Brown, founder of Onda added:

“We’re really happy to have opened Onda’s first restaurant at Circle Square this year. Where to open and picking the right location was a big decision for us and we couldn’t be happier with how it’s gone here. The whole area has really come together this year too with a great mix of exciting local businesses alongside us.”