AN ABANDONED department store’s roof is being turned into a huge new attraction – after success in two other UK cities.
Freight Island will open at the abandoned Debenhams in Eldon Square Shopping Centre in Newcastle in June.
Costing £16million, the “island above the city centre” is set to become the largest food, drink, and entertainment venue in a UK city centre.
The venue itself will be on the top floor of the empty Debenhams store and span 5,574-square-metres.
Inside, the main hub called The Plant Room will boast communal areas for guests to dine under a retractable roof.
The Plant Room will feature 12 street food-style restaurants with specific brands including Meat: Stack, I Scream for Pizza, Miso, V.Goode Pies, Fab Bakery, Churros Kingdom, Fuku and Pita.
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When it comes to grabbing a drink, there will be four bars including a specialist Aperitivo cocktail bar with cocktails on tap and Two by Two Brewing beers.
For music lovers, there will also be a 1,200 person venue called the Music Box, where touring acts, theatre shows, festivals and DJ sets will take place.
Reportedly, there will even be raves for kids, as well as multiple screens showing live sporting events.
The venue will be inspired by New York‘s Coney Island and Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens.
When the new destination was announced last year, Co-founder and Managing Director of Freight Island, Dan Morris, said: “This venue has been designed with scale, prominence, and long-term investment in mind.
“We hope to replicate the huge success of Freight Island in Manchester, where it has already contributed over £30million to the local economy.
“This incredible venue in the heart of a very special city offers a truly exciting opportunity to create a cultural space that could become a focal point of Newcastle for years to come.”
Freight Island is already open in Manchester and, back in January, announced that it is opening a new site in the Trinity Leeds shopping centre.
Similar to the Newcastle venue, there will be street food-style stalls, bars and live entertainment.
There will also be an outdoor terrace looking over City Square.
Construction of the Leeds site is set to start in late spring.
And next month, Freight Island will open a venue in Brixton, south west London.
The rooftop destination will be able to host around 1,000 people and officially opens on May 7.
It is expected to be the capital’s largest rooftop venue with chef residencies, cocktail bars, live music, DJ sets, food festivals and major sports screenings, amongst other events.
For the upcoming World Cup, the rooftop will even have a dedicated World Cup Fanzone with screenings of the matches.
Other upcoming events include Reggae Brunch and Maggi Brunch.
There will be family-friendly daytime sessions in the summer too.
Similar to the Newcastle venue, Freight Island Brixton will have a number of speciality bars including the Casamigos ‘House of Friends’ and Hotel Milano – themed around much-loved Italian aperitivos.
Freight Island already has a destination in Manchester, located near Piccadilly Station.
It was the brand’s first venue, opening its doors back in July 2020.
In other attraction news, one of the UK’s most popular seaside towns is getting a huge new £3million indoor attraction this summer.
Plus, there’s a new £379million attraction dedicated to chocolate opening in Europe with rides and hotels.