Cafe Football to open at National Football Museum

26 September 2016


The National Football Museum is excited to announce a new deal with GG Hospitality, which will see the business, owned by Singaporean Company Rowsley Ltd, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, take over the restaurants, hospitality and event management of the National Football Museum from the 1st October 2016.

As part of the new partnership, Cafe Football will be launched on the ground floor of the museum in late 2016, with the top floors of the building to be transformed into one of the city’s most exciting restaurants.

The National Football Museum café will relaunch as Café Football, with a new menu and fresh look. The location overlooking Cathedral Gardens makes it not just a great addition to the museum experience, but perfect for city centre visitors to drop in for a light bite.

Gary Neville, GG Hospitality co-owner, said: “The National Football Museum is the ideal place for us to expand our hospitality portfolio. The museum is a massive draw for both football fans and tourists in Manchester and bringing the brands together feels like a natural partnership. To open our first restaurant with Creative Director Michael O’Hare and his team is a fantastic moment for GG Hospitality and Manchester. It is an exciting time for our business with further announcements imminent.”

Kevin Haygarth, General Manager of the National Football Museum, said: “We’re delighted to have the GG Hospitality team join us at the National Football Museum. Café Football will deliver a fantastic service and experience for our museum visitors. The restaurant will make the museum building a must-visit destination for diners, and we’re looking forward to how the team will add something extra special to our hospitality offer.

“This new partnership comes at a great time for the museum, as we expand our corporate facilities with a new meeting and event space available soon.”

Critically acclaimed chef and GG Hospitality Creative Director, Michael O’Hare, will oversee the launch of a new restaurant across the 5th and 6th floors of the building later this year. The restaurant, named after an Asian fable ‘The Rabbit in the Moon’, will see Michael’s protégé, Luke Cockerill, run the restaurant as head chef. Luke has been under Michael’s tuition since leaving college, first working at the Blind Swine in York, before moving to The Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds for its opening in May 2014.

Stewart Davies, Group Operations Director, GG Hospitality, said: “We are delighted to be adding three fantastic new operations to our growing portfolio, and the partnership with the National Football Museum will ensure a hugely exciting evolution to the already successful Café Football and Hotel Football brands”

Michael O’Hare Creative Director, GG Hospitality said: “The Urbis building is a phenomenal piece of architecture and I'm excited that as a company we can deliver a world class restaurant within it. On the inception of The Rabbit In The Moon, I am a success as a result of the people I surround myself with, Luke has been my right hand man since he was 17, he is the most creative, fun, and dynamic chef I have ever known and it is amazing to see a guy so young set to achieve so much, Manchester is going to love it!”

As part of the deal, GG Hospitality will also be displaying elements of the museum’s incredible collections at Hotel Football and Cafe Football sites in the UK and abroad, further increasing the reach of the world’s greatest football collection.