Manchester Central chief executive Shaun Hinds on his successor Lori Hoinkes, the new Junction bar, restaurant, cafe and social workspace that opens at Manchester Central in June.
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00:00 So Sean, the announcements come out today about your successor, heading up Manchester Central here. So what can we expect?
00:09 Yeah, so I think we did a great job. Obviously this is a brilliant job, a brilliant role.
00:15 So we were almost spoiled with choice, but we got somebody joining us relatively quickly.
00:21 It's going to be a great addition and hopefully it's going to carry on some of the work that I've been trying to do over the last few years.
00:27 So her name is Laurie, Laurie Hoinx. She comes actually from an event organising background.
00:33 So currently with the Montgomery Group, which is one of the UK's most well-established and successful event organisers.
00:42 So bringing a really interesting perspective to Manchester and actually really perfect timing as well,
00:49 because the way that the events industry is evolving, you know, it's the one area I think where everyone's looking to write
00:56 what's next, what can we do? So to have somebody that's got that background is going to be a tremendous asset for Central,
01:02 for the team and for Manchester. So yeah, and luckily she'll be joining us pretty quickly. So by the middle of May, she'll be here.
01:09 And it's exciting times for Man Central because you've got a new restaurant opening in a few months as well.
01:15 So tell us about that and what you've got there.
01:17 We have, so Junction is due to open at the beginning of June and I'm really sorry, I won't quite see it open myself.
01:25 But for some time we've wanted to create a space which kind of almost exemplifies what Manchester Central is all about.
01:34 You know, we're about connecting people, connecting business, connecting ideas.
01:39 And we do it really, really well when we've got our events on, but we don't have that space where people can kind of naturally
01:46 congregate or they can meet either during an event or outside of an event.
01:51 So we've taken a prime area of the venue right on the front, great view of the Midland Hotel, fantastic view of Bridgewater Hall on the other side,
02:00 floor to ceiling windows, wonderful space. And we've turned it into a coffee shop, bar, flexible social workspace and restaurant.
02:09 It's going to be tremendous. It's going to be open all the time. It's going to be open for everybody.
02:13 So whether you're coming here for an event or whether you're just in Manchester, it's going to be the place to be.
02:19 And I can't wait for it to open. And I'm just so disappointed that I won't be here when it does open,
02:23 but I will make sure there's a tankard behind the bar with my name on it.
02:27 That's amazing. So when can we expect it to be fully open?
02:30 So we're pretty much starting around about the 3rd of June, but I would say by the middle of June, it will be fully open.
02:36 So anyone coming to an event here kind of June onwards is going to be able to experience what Junction is all about.
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