Grand Central attracts world's first restaurant for local Birmingham chef
Two independent dining brands have signed at Grand Central, part of the Bullring Estate in Birmingham. Hammerson has secured a new entrant into the market, Holy Moly Macaroni, a Harlem influenced soul food operator, which is opening its debut restaurant alongside another new brand, Tasty Plaice.
Holy Moly Macaroni is launching its 1,750 sq ft restaurant opposite Tortilla. The brand, headed by local Birmingham chef, Anthony Duffy, was founded in 2012 by a group of English friends visiting New York. Inspired by hearty Harlem mac ‘n’ cheese, the founders chose to launch a brand in the UK with the aim of “bringing back proper mac”. Designed by Newman Gauge and with over 60 covers, the interior will include industrial elements to reflect the streets of Harlem, and will use neon lighting to mirror the brand’s logo.
Joining the new UK entrant Holy Moly Macaroni is fish and chip operator, Tasty Plaice, which has opened a 1,100 sq ft restaurant with space for circa 40 covers.
Sarah Fox, Head of Restaurants and Leisure at Hammerson, said: “We are delighted to announce this string of new signings, including the debut location for local brand, Holy Moly Macaroni. These lettings are a result of our proactive asset management strategy, delivering a varied dining offer across the Bullring Estate that combines well known favourites alongside emerging, independent restaurateurs.”
Anthony Duffy, founder at Holy Moly Macaroni, added: “Opening our first permanent location is a really exciting venture for Holy Moly and we can’t wait to start serving up our delicious mac n cheese dishes for Grand Central visitors to enjoy. The location itself is perfect for our debut, I know how popular it is as a retail and leisure destination and we’ll be sitting alongside a premium dining line-up, well positioned to cater for the high footfall from New Street Station and the wider Bullring Estate.”
Part of the iconic Bullring Estate, Grand Central has established itself as one of the country’s leading retail and dining destinations. Also situated directly above New Street Station, the busiest train station outside of London, Grand Central is home to a number of aspirational brands, including John Lewis, Jo Malone, The White Company, Cath Kidston, Hobbs, MAC, and Joules. A comprehensive dining line-up completes Grand Central’s offer.
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Notes to Editors
Hammerson is a FTSE 100 owner, manager and developer of retail destinations in Europe. Our portfolio of high-quality retail property has a value of around £10.6 billion and includes 22 prime shopping centres, 15 convenient retail parks and investments in 20 premium outlet villages, through our partnership with Value Retail and the VIA Outlets joint venture. Key investments include Bullring, Birmingham; Bicester Village, Oxfordshire; Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin; and Les Terrasses du Port, Marseille