Latest news with #AVAFestival
Belfast Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Popular steakhouse set to open Portrush restaurant following £350k investment
NI's much loved food brand Top Blade is bringing its bold flavour and sizzling reputation to Portrush. Opening this summer, the new restaurant will be serving up steaks just in time for the busy tourism season and the return of The Open to Royal Portrush in July. Director, Aaron Taggart said: 'We've been keen to expand to the north coast for some time but were waiting for the right location. 'Now the timing feels right and the premises are ideal, it's been a stroke of luck that we are coinciding with such a busy summer season and we're looking forward to welcoming so many visitors to this wonderful part of the world. 'This site gives us the opportunity to create something really special, not just in terms of food, but also in setting. 'A seafront restaurant with uninterrupted views of the Atlantic isn't something you come by often! We'll be retaining Koko's existing staff where possible and building a strong new team to deliver the Top Blade experience.' The new venue will be located in the prominent seafront premises currently home to Koko's, which is set to undergo a full transformation to become Top Blade's third restaurant. Backed by a £350,000 investment, the project will create 20 new jobs in the local hospitality sector. Top Blade, already a firm favourite in Belfast and Portadown, is known for its vibrant atmosphere, locally sourced steaks, and no-fuss food done well, (but not well done!). Currently the chain serves up the widest variety of steaks with a staggering 15 options on the extensive menu, the new Portrush site will offer seating for 70 diners to enjoy the unrivalled ocean view, delivering a standout new dining destination right in the heart of the town. Fellow Director John Crawford added: 'This is a big move for us, and we're ambitious about it. With this new opening, we're aiming to serve up to 100,000 steaks a year across our three locations. 'We're proud of our ethos, great steaks, sides and sauces, served with simplicity and flair, and we're confident it'll be a welcome addition to the Portrush dining scene. Watch: AVA Festival returns to Belfast "The timing couldn't be better. With thousands set to descend on the town for The Open and a number of new hospitality businesses already open or opening, it feels like the area is really coming into its own. Top Blade will certainly be a major player on the North Coast food scene. 'Bookings have not yet been released, but tables are set to fill up fast as soon as they do.'
Belfast Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
New stage to debut at 2025 AVA Festival on Titanic Slipways
The two-day event kicks off on Friday with a new stage, The Dock. Watch: AVA Festival returns to Belfast Event organiser Sarah McBriar said: 'It's looking amazing, we've got so many new additions to the festival this year and sunshine is forecast for Friday.' The Dock features layered platforms for dancers, a Funktion-One sound system supplied by Hertz-U Audioand a custom audiovisual rigfrom Visual Spectrum Studio. She added: 'It's a mixture of dancing and live shows, it's that kind of an amphitheatre-style stage as well, and we have built lots of shipping containers and scaffolding stuff around it. 'So, it's still got the industrial feel of AVA, but the intimacy of an epic stage.' The Dock is an 'homage' to Belfast. She explained: 'I think that's what we've always done, both with who we programme and who we book, but also, like, the scenery and the location. 'It's an amazing site here on the slipways, and the fact that we've got the Titanic (museum) and the cranes as a backdrop. We've got the city, the water, the boats come in, the sunsets over the city... it's a gorgeous location.' This year's festival promises 'something for everyone'. Ms McBriar added: 'If you're into bands, we've got Chalk, we've got obviously Underworld playing live, and Overmono, all the way through to lots of local acts like DJ Time of the Month, Reger, Mark Blair... and also, if you're into techno, we've got 9x9. 'So yeah, it's pretty much like a massive bill. But I think also just the atmosphere and the people and the crowd and the energy... you know, even if you're not massively into the music, it's also just the atmosphere and the whole experience.' The AVA team is working hard to ensure festival-goers enjoy a quality experience. She said: 'We've got 'chill out' spaces, a really cool hospitality space with Wing It, lots of amazing local food traders, a new Be Perfect bus, where people can go and get a facial, and then obviously all the amazing stages as well. 'You can chill, you can dance, you can rave, you can get lots of amazing drinks from our bars.' AVA will run from Friday to Saturday with tickets still available online. 'Our weekend tickets are actually really close to selling out. So if you haven't already got your ticket, get onto it ASAP,' she said. 'And then we've got a handful of day tickets remaining.'
