The Living Room Dies

Deansgate bar pioneer The Living Room is set for closure at the end of September, in a move which will see the operating company, Stonegate, rebrand the chain as Be At One.

Originally created in 1999 by Living Ventures founders Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts, next door to their original bar, JW Johnsons. They developed it into a national chain with 13 branches before selling it for £28 million in 2007.

After changing ownership a few times, the Stonegate - now the largest pub company in the UK - acquired the 13 branches in 2013 for just £10 million. 

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Amongst many other brands, Stonegate also own familiar names to Mancunians like Scream, Slug and Lettuce, Yates's, Missoula, The Footage, Popworld, Retro, Walkabout and the recently acquired Be At One.

Stonegate also bought London high-end bars Balls Brothers and Tank & Paddle in January 2019, together with 32 venues from Fever, including Fever Boutique, Moo Moo, Zinc and Bierkeller Bavarian pubs.

Be At One will bring changes to the venue with the existing bar to be split in the middle, new "L" shape seating to replace the booths, and a new masterclass room on the first floor.

We are yet to hear what the plans are for the original Manchester branch of Be At One, just across the road in Barton Arcade.

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