Looking at Dawnvale’s Best Fit-Out Projects in Our Home Town, Manchester

Manchester isn’t just where Dawnvale is based; it’s where our story began, where our team lives, and where some of our proudest work now stands.

Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of transforming a wide range of hospitality, leisure and commercial spaces across the city, from landmark listed buildings to modern stadium environments and vibrant food and drink destinations. Many of the venues we’ve delivered are places we genuinely enjoy spending time ourselves, not only because we built them, but because our clients create outstanding food, drink and experiences within them.

From long-standing partnerships with Manchester City Football Club to some of the city’s most talked-about new restaurant openings, the projects below represent a cross-section of the work that has shaped our reputation locally. They reflect the level of design detail, build quality and operational thinking that goes into every Dawnvale fit-out, and why we’re proud to be a Manchester-based company working at the heart of the city’s hospitality scene.

Any conversation about Manchester inevitably leads to football.

The Manchester United and Manchester City rivalry is known all over the world, shaping the city’s identity for generations. More recently, City’s historic treble-winning season cemented the club’s place not just as a dominant force in English football, but as one of the very best teams in Europe, and arguably the world.

For Dawnvale, working with Manchester City Football Club isn’t just another client relationship. It’s a long-term partnership rooted in our shared connection to the city itself.

After more than seven years working together, Dawnvale became the club’s official local fit-out supplier. During that time, we’ve been trusted to deliver a wide range of high-profile hospitality, retail and operational projects across the Etihad Campus.

For fans, we’ve completed major front-of-house destinations, including:

• M-Gate
• The Ardwick
• Kits
• The Manager’s Corner
• The Etihad Airways VIP Suites
• Multiple corporate hospitality boxes
• Modifications and enhancements to the Chairman’s Club
• Upgrades to the Tunnel Club hospitality spaces
• The full renovation of the Official Manchester City Store – our largest single stadium project to date

Beyond the public areas, we are also trusted to work behind the scenes throughout the campus on both large and small projects in sensitive operational environments, including:

• City Campus Media Reception
• HQ Reception
• First Team Refectory
• Scholars’ Refectory
• Player and staff areas across the training and performance facilities

Being invited into these spaces is something we don’t take lightly. It reflects the level of trust that has been built over years of consistent delivery, discretion, and attention to detail – and it remains one of the partnerships we are most proud of as a Manchester-based business.

There’s something different about working in your own city.

Manchester has a distinct energy and identity, shaped by industry, music, sport, food and a fiercely independent spirit. That character runs through many of the venues we’ve helped to create, from historic listed buildings in the city centre to modern waterfront developments and stadium hospitality environments.

Many of the projects featured below are places our own team genuinely enjoys visiting once the doors are open. Not because we built them, but because the food, drink and atmosphere our clients create make them great places to spend time.

From long-standing partnerships like Manchester City Football Club to some of the city’s most exciting restaurant and leisure openings, these projects represent a snapshot of the work that has shaped Dawnvale’s reputation locally, and why we’re proud to call Manchester home.

One of our most recent Manchester projects, and one we’re especially proud of, is Cut & Craft Manchester.

This venue marked a major milestone for the brand, bringing its renowned dining experience to the city for the first time. Set within the Grade II* listed Bond Building, a former bank built in 1862, it was their most ambitious venue to date.

Although Cut & Craft was a new client for Dawnvale, we had a long-standing relationship with their trusted project management team, who knew we could deliver the level of quality and sensitivity required for a building of this significance.

Studio Two Interiors were appointed to design a space that honoured the building’s heritage while introducing a bold, contemporary dining experience. Our role was to bring that vision to life, navigating the challenges of working within a Grade II* listed structure while delivering a visually striking and operationally efficient restaurant.

Today, Cut & Craft Manchester is one of the city’s most talked-about new openings and one of its most awarded newcomers to the restaurant scene, a fitting new chapter for a building that has stood at the heart of Manchester for over 160 years.

Another recent Manchester project we were delighted to be involved with is Louis, a stylish new restaurant bringing a refined take on modern European dining to the city.

Dawnvale was appointed to deliver the full commercial kitchen installation for the venue, working closely with the client and wider project team to design and build a high-performance kitchen capable of supporting a premium, high-volume dining operation.

Our scope included detailed kitchen design development, manufacture and installation of bespoke stainless steel fabrication, integration of specialist catering equipment, and coordination of mechanical and electrical services to ensure a seamless and compliant back-of-house environment.

The result is a robust, efficient and well-zoned kitchen that supports the culinary team in delivering consistently high-quality food while maintaining excellent workflow, hygiene and safety standards.

We were also pleased to attend one of Louis’ launch nights, which gave our team the opportunity to experience the venue as guests and see first-hand how the kitchen and front-of-house spaces work together in a live service environment. It is always a privilege to watch a new venue come to life, particularly when we’ve played a part behind the scenes in making it happen.

Another project that holds a special place for our team is Mackie Mayor.

When Market Operations, the brand behind Altrincham’s award-winning market, decided to launch a new Manchester venue, they turned to Dawnvale to help deliver the fit-out.

The Grade II listed Mackie Mayor building is one of only two remaining original structures from the former Smithfield Market, sitting on the edge of the Northern Quarter. We worked to transform this historic shell into a vibrant urban food and drink destination for some of the city’s most exciting independent operators.

Today, Mackie Mayor is firmly embedded in Manchester’s food culture and remains one of the city’s most popular and distinctive social dining spaces.

Dawnvale has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with The Alchemist, a brand known for its theatrical approach to cocktails and ultra-stylish interiors.

At Media City, we delivered the fit-out of their striking waterfront venue, their third Manchester location. Of the 12 Alchemist branches across the UK, Dawnvale has now been involved in eight, with further projects planned alongside Living Ventures, Macaulay Sinclair and The Alchemist team.

It’s a partnership built on mutual trust and a shared understanding of how to deliver visually impactful spaces that still work operationally in high-volume hospitality environments.

We also undertook a complete turnkey fit-out at Holiday Inn Manchester, Central Park, working closely with project designers to deliver a full refurbishment of the open-plan lobby and bar area.

Our scope included bespoke metal screens and fittings, a brand-new bar installation, structural alterations, furniture, finishes and a full reconfiguration of the space.

The design reflects Holiday Inn’s latest open-lobby concept, while drawing inspiration from Manchester’s industrial heritage, creating a relaxed, flexible environment where guests can work, eat, drink and socialise.

When KRO opened a new branch at the Trafford Centre, they once again selected Dawnvale to deliver the interior fit-out, following our work at three previous sites.

Located within the Trafford Centre’s Great Hall dining zone, the project required careful planning and execution to meet the centre’s strict design and construction guidelines, while still delivering KRO’s contemporary, chic brand identity.

Dawnvale collaborated with Peel Holdings, Salford City College and Damson Restaurants on a full design and build of Damson, Salford, one of the UK’s most advanced low-energy commercial training kitchens and fine dining restaurants.

Working from detailed 3D design visuals, we manufactured and installed the entire scheme exactly as specified, delivering a technically complex and highly efficient hospitality and training environment.

While Manchester is home, many of our most rewarding projects sit just beyond the city boundary.

These schemes demonstrate that our work is not confined to the city centre alone. Across Greater Manchester and neighbouring Lancashire towns, we support clients in heritage settings, live sporting venues and premium leisure environments, bringing the same level of care, technical rigour and operational thinking to every brief.

Rochdale Town Hall
We were proud to be involved in works at the Grade I listed Rochdale Town Hall, one of the finest examples of Victorian Gothic architecture in the country. Our contribution formed part of a wider restoration and redevelopment programme to bring this historic civic building back into active public use, supporting its transformation into a cultural, hospitality and events destination for the borough.

Accrington Stanley Football Club
At Accrington Stanley FC, Dawnvale delivered hospitality and catering improvements within the stadium environment, helping to enhance both operational efficiency and the matchday experience for supporters.

Sale Rugby Club
Our work at Sale Rugby Club involved the delivery of hospitality and bar facilities within a live sporting venue, supporting high-volume service during matchdays and events while maintaining a premium supporter experience.

Nutters, Rochdale
For Nutters Restaurant in Rochdale, we delivered a commercial kitchen and supporting back-of-house works for one of the North West’s most respected fine dining institutions, helping to future-proof the operation while respecting its established culinary reputation.

Woodland Spa, Burnley
At Woodland Spa in Burnley, we completed hospitality and catering facilities as part of a luxury leisure environment, contributing to a premium guest experience within one of the region’s leading spa destinations.

Just beyond the city boundary, Wilmslow has been home to several projects that we remain particularly proud of.

At Chilli Banana, we delivered a full turnkey refurbishment when the restaurant relocated to the centre of Wilmslow, taking the project from concept and design through to demolition, rebuild and final fit-out.

For Suburban Green, Wilmslow, Dawnvale was recommended to managing director Martin Lower and head chef Cal Gregg-Williams by a previous client. What began as a bar and kitchen brief grew into a full interior scheme including furniture, flooring and finishes, helping transform an empty shell into one of Wilmslow’s most vibrant dining destinations.

There’s a genuine sense of pride that comes with delivering projects in your own city – especially when those venues become part of Manchester’s cultural and hospitality landscape.

While our team enjoys seeing local projects come to life and being able to experience them first-hand once the doors are open, Dawnvale is very much a nationwide fit-out contractor. We work across the UK for clients including:

• Morrisons
• Hickory’s Smokehouse
• Birmingham City Football Club
• BP Pulse Arena
• Restaurant Bar & Grill
• TGI Fridays
• and many more

From landmark city-centre restaurants and listed buildings to stadium hospitality, hotels and large-scale roll-outs, the same principles guide every project we deliver: attention to detail, respect for the space, and a clear focus on how venues need to work in the real world.

Manchester has always had a strong identity, shaped by industry, music, sport and a fiercely independent spirit.

Being a Manchester-based fit-out company means more to us than just a postcode. It means understanding the character of the city, the expectations of its customers, and the responsibility that comes with shaping spaces people genuinely care about.

The projects above represent just a small snapshot of the work we’ve delivered locally, but they reflect the standards we bring to every fit-out, whether it’s in the heart of Manchester or hundreds of miles away.