Linen Quarter rooftop bar set to open
Pictured on site of the new rooftop garden bar in Belfast’s Linen Quarter is Zoe Watson and Paul Langsford (outside right) of Abacus Inns with Graham Devenney from O’Donnell O’Neill.
The latest phase of a £1m entertainment development in Belfast’s Linen Quarter is due to be completed early December 2014 with the opening of Rita’s, a new beer & cocktail club which will create an additional 20 new jobs.
Rita’s is based at 44 Franklin Street and follows the recent openings within the same historic building of the Asian-influenced bar and restaurant, Shiro and the nightclub, Chinawhite. Planning has also recently been granted for the final phase of the overall project which will start in early 2015, a £350,000 investment in a fifth floor rooftop garden which can accommodate 250 customers. The entire development will create a total of 180 jobs when complete.
According to Paul Langsford, director of Abacus Inns, which owns the site, Belfast hasn’t seen a targeted regeneration of the night time economy to this level for many years. He told LCN:
“The opening of the third bar Rita’s makes this development one of the most significant investments in the night-time entertainment business in Belfast for many years. Belfast’s Linen Quarter has always had enormous potential and we believe that our development delivers a new hub for the night life economy within Belfast city centre.”
Mr. Langsford said that the response to the development so far had been “hugely positive” and that he believed Rita’s would add a new dimension to the development.
Graham O’Donnell from Dublin and Belfast-based bar designers, O’Donnell O’Neill, who have overseen the whole development, said that Rita’s would be on a par with similar cocktail bars in New York, London and Paris.
“The tasteful interior design is atmospheric, comfortable and conversation-inducing and with the interior architecture we have sought to maintain the sanctity of the original features while drawing out Rita’s alluring and atmospheric environment,” said Graham. “Warm brickwork is enhanced with sumptuous seating and embossed panelled bar to provide another new and unique experience for customers coming to the Linen Quarter.”
