Bar / Music Hall / Club in Manchester
Sick of seeing bands in the same old venues, the same old darkened rooms with the same old overpriced, warm beer? So were we, until Manchester’s The Deaf Institute came along. Since opening its doors in February 2008, the three-story bar / club / venue has revolutionised Manchester nightlife, with the city’s best promoters supplying an inspired programme of gigs and clubs. Cool local promoters Chips With Everything, Akoustik Anarkhy, El Diablo’s, Now Wave and Johnny’s 7”, Bring on the Dancing Horses, have all relocated to The Deaf Institute, while national names Heavenly Records, Guilty Pleasures, Drowned In Sound and Radio 1 have promoted events there.
Located on Grosvenor Street near Oxford Road, the Deaf Institute is a glorious Grade II listed Victorian building (built 1878) that’s been
lovingly and sensitively refitted by its owners, Trof. The basement bar is an intimate snug; the ground floor has the main bar and an outside terrace, and the jewel of the crown, the 250-capacity music hall, occupies the first floor. It’s there that the live performances take place, looked on by the original tiered seating benches and the biggest glitterball we’ve ever seen. Recent performers include Edwyn Collins, The Coral, Ebony Bones, The Longcut, Cherry Ghost, Sun Ra Arkestra and Little Boots.
Where possible, everything in The Deaf Institute is recycled: the bars are made from wooden doors rescued from old libraries, hospitals, colleges and even mental homes. The benches are reclaimed and the display behind the upstairs bar is made of a huge collection of vintage speakers.
In the fridges and on the taps is an exhaustive range of beers from around the world, including a draft lager and a draft cider that’s brewed specially for the three Trof bars in the city. From the kitchen, all the delicious food is locally sourced and cooked from scratch on site.
If you’re tempted to call the three Trofs a chain, please don’t, say that to the owners – it conjures up ideas of Weatherspoons and corporate
identities, which is anathema to what these bars are about. Opened in 2001 by Joel Wilkinson and partner Adelaide Winter, the first Trof sprang to life as a ramshackle café bar in Fallowfield, south Manchester, an instant local favourite for standing out among the faceless student bars. At a property auction six years later, Joel bid on a building in the city centre on impulse, and became the shocked owner of a beautiful, three storey, 1888s building in Manchester’strendy Northern Quarter which won bar of the year 2007. Suddenly, the former scrap dealer, welder, long distance truck driver and Motorhead crew member found himself with the beginnings of a property empire, and set about renovating his latest in the same shabby-chic style.
When that bar, also called Trof, opened to widespread success, plans began forming for The Deaf Institute, a building Joel had been keeping a close eye on for some time. The former home to the organisation of the same name, it was disused and fallen into disrepair, but had so many things going for it, from the original engraved “Deaf And Dumb Institute’ sign to its ready made music hall seating. A plan quickly formed.
“I used to go to other venues and it was hell – bad soundsystems, warm cans of beer and all the rest,” says Joel. “We wanted to make somewhere you can spend a whole night – you can eat here, relax in one of the bars and watch gigs in a great room.”
Having opened within 12 weeks of its acquisition, the response far has been phenomenal – just months old, The Deaf Institute has been named Bar Of The Year by The Manchester Evening News’s entertainment arm, City Life, and it’s a hive of activity every night of the week. Joel already has plans for his next project – a hotel. Something tells us it’ll be the quirkiest and coolest hotel in the city.
| The Deaf Institute - Cafe Bar & Music Hall |
Located on Grosvenor Street near Oxford Road, the Deaf Institute is a glorious Grade II listed Victorian building (built 1878) that’s been
lovingly and sensitively refitted by its owners, Trof. The basement bar is an intimate snug; the ground floor has the main bar and an outside terrace, and the jewel of the crown, the 250-capacity music hall, occupies the first floor. It’s there that the live performances take place, looked on by the original tiered seating benches and the biggest glitterball we’ve ever seen. Recent performers include Edwyn Collins, The Coral, Ebony Bones, The Longcut, Cherry Ghost, Sun Ra Arkestra and Little Boots.
Where possible, everything in The Deaf Institute is recycled: the bars are made from wooden doors rescued from old libraries, hospitals, colleges and even mental homes. The benches are reclaimed and the display behind the upstairs bar is made of a huge collection of vintage speakers.
In the fridges and on the taps is an exhaustive range of beers from around the world, including a draft lager and a draft cider that’s brewed specially for the three Trof bars in the city. From the kitchen, all the delicious food is locally sourced and cooked from scratch on site.
If you’re tempted to call the three Trofs a chain, please don’t, say that to the owners – it conjures up ideas of Weatherspoons and corporate
identities, which is anathema to what these bars are about. Opened in 2001 by Joel Wilkinson and partner Adelaide Winter, the first Trof sprang to life as a ramshackle café bar in Fallowfield, south Manchester, an instant local favourite for standing out among the faceless student bars. At a property auction six years later, Joel bid on a building in the city centre on impulse, and became the shocked owner of a beautiful, three storey, 1888s building in Manchester’strendy Northern Quarter which won bar of the year 2007. Suddenly, the former scrap dealer, welder, long distance truck driver and Motorhead crew member found himself with the beginnings of a property empire, and set about renovating his latest in the same shabby-chic style.
When that bar, also called Trof, opened to widespread success, plans began forming for The Deaf Institute, a building Joel had been keeping a close eye on for some time. The former home to the organisation of the same name, it was disused and fallen into disrepair, but had so many things going for it, from the original engraved “Deaf And Dumb Institute’ sign to its ready made music hall seating. A plan quickly formed.
“I used to go to other venues and it was hell – bad soundsystems, warm cans of beer and all the rest,” says Joel. “We wanted to make somewhere you can spend a whole night – you can eat here, relax in one of the bars and watch gigs in a great room.”
Having opened within 12 weeks of its acquisition, the response far has been phenomenal – just months old, The Deaf Institute has been named Bar Of The Year by The Manchester Evening News’s entertainment arm, City Life, and it’s a hive of activity every night of the week. Joel already has plans for his next project – a hotel. Something tells us it’ll be the quirkiest and coolest hotel in the city.
| The Deaf Institute - Cafe Bar & Music Hall |
