Events

🎶 YolanDa Brown to open Soul Mama at The Gantry in September, featuring live music and a menu blending African, Caribbean, and South American flavors. Announced in June 2022 after raising over £248,000 on Kickstarter, the largest for a restaurant on the platform. Relocated from Islington Square to Stratford, Soul Mama will offer comedy and family concerts. Chef Aleandro Brown, trained by Gordon Ramsay, serves dishes like coconut curry and jerk cauliflower. The design includes a central stage, all-day café, cocktails, and local beers.

🏠 Nobu Hospitality launches Nobu Toronto in Canada next month. Designed by Studio Munge, the 10,000-square-foot venue features a two-level restaurant and bar with Japanese-inspired design and Canadian craftsmanship. Key aspects include a 28-foot bronze chainmail chandelier, a 20-seat sake bar, a 140-seat courtyard dining room with a sushi bar and private tasting room, and a 20-seat private dining room. Nobu Hotel Toronto to open in spring 2025.

🚢 Traveltek, a travel technology and cruise specialist, partners with European river cruise company VIVA Cruises, subsidiary of Scylla. Agents gain access to pricing, itineraries, and details for nine ships on seven rivers. Traveltek's network includes over 300 suppliers spanning air travel, hotels, cruises, and more. VIVA's partnership is part of Traveltek's river cruise portfolio expansion, responding to increased demand for European river cruises.

🍴 Oscar Akgul and Osman Doganozu will open The Cut & Craft Manchester in a Grade II-listed building, the former Manchester and Salford Bank, dating back to 1862. The original Cut & Craft was launched in York in 2018, with Akgul and Doganozu also managing Lucia restaurants in York and Beverley. The Manchester venue will include high-ceilinged spaces and former vaults converted into private dining and entertainment areas, emphasizing quality steak and sustainable seafood. Bruntwood SciTech COO Ciara Keeling expresses excitement for the restaurant's addition to Bond.

🏢 28 categories for the Travolution Awards shortlisted from hundreds of entries, ceremony on November 28 in London. Last year, over 450 attendees. Mastercard Headline Sponsor, awards include the B2B Payment award for innovation in payments < 2 years old. Consumer-voted awards sponsored by icelolly.com and Ice Travel Group. Other sponsors: Gail Kenny Executive Recruitment, HolidayPirates Group, HolidayTaxis Group, HotelRunner, Trip.com, WEX. Special awards judged separately. New expert judges for impartiality. Editor Kate Harden-England emphasizes the exciting travel industry intersection and improved entry quality. Finalists viewable online.

🏠 Since 2011, Bedrock has invested $3.5 billion in over 140 properties in Detroit and Cleveland. The Shinola Hotel in Detroit, named after a luxury goods retailer, celebrated its fifth anniversary in June. The 2024 NFL Draft in late April brought over 775,000 visitors to Detroit. The Shinola Hotel features 129 rooms with 54 unique room types and played a significant role in changing Detroit’s narrative. Tom Kartsotis and Dan Gilbert were the hotel's first investors, placing it in the former Singer Sewing Machine headquarters. The hotel, designed by Gachot Studios, includes touches like Shinola Navy Blue paint and distinct shower fixtures. Nearby Parker’s Alley offers local shopping and was once home to a "Shark Tank" success story, The Lip Bar. Detroit continues to grow with Roost Detroit being listed in Travel & Leisure’s “Top 100 New Hotels of 2024,” and plans for a new General Motors headquarters underway.

🏛 Adam Štěch's exhibition "Elements: Unique Details of the 20th Century Architecture and Interior" showcased at Milan design week, 12-21 April 2024, featured 10 images from his archive of 7,000 projects in 45 countries. Spanning works completed between 1910 and 1980, the exhibition emphasized bespoke details in architecture, displayed in an abandoned warehouse tunnel behind Milan Central Station. Curated over 15+ years, Štěch's collection aims to be the largest database of unique designs captured by an individual.