Last minute work was under way at Frate this week ahead of the big opening night for the city's new outdoor container site.
The shopping container set-up is preparing to launch on Friday, just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend, and first guests are invited to pop in to enjoy a night of music, food and drink - if they can find it. Described by co-owner Rob Clarkson as "being hidden in plain sight", the new venue is actually right in the centre of Newcastle but in a tucked-away spot which needs tracking down.
Frate has been taking shape in a space behind Grey Street, in a former car park in a back lane off High Bridge, overlooked by Barluga's roof terrace. The team behind it - who also run Maket Shaker, which backs onto it, as well as Blues Cafe and The Dog & Parrot - had originally tried out the area as a pop-up during lockdown restrictions. They then acquired permission to use it for Frate, which involved removal of an old three-storey office building, and the result is a surprise new space with an upper level area to house a DJ.
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On Wednesday, workers were on site finishing off the recycled freight containers and courtyard seating areas, which include bookable booths, around a centrepiece olive tree. A food area will be serving pizzas and Middle Eastern-style mezza from Friday, with opportunities for other local food vendors to come on a rotation basis, and besides a main bar there's also a cocktail bar. Rob, who himself has been flat-out busy there ahead of Friday's 5pm official launch, said: "It's been stressful!
"It's taken three years and a lot of hard work - and in the last six months a lot of money!" But they have big ambitions for the venue.
He and Tommy Byron, with pal Lloyd Riddell, first opened opened Market Shaker in 2019, bringing to bear experience they had in running bars and hosting events and DJ nights. They then reopened the old Pumphreys in the Cloth Market in 2020 as the Blues Cafe and now Frate around the corner - which Rob describes as an intimate experience compared with Newcastle's former shipping container venue Stack - is aiming to corner its own market.
When finished, the venue, with murals by street artists, is set to morph from day-time trade to evening mode, when it will take on a whole new ambience with overhead lights, a glitter ball and cosy vibes. The plan is to have a cover for the courtyard by autumn when the weather turns.
Those keen to be among the first to visit can pop-in on Friday evening when there will be live music and, among the drinks on sale, will be frozen cocktails and beers including a specially-brewed High Bridge session lager. From then, Frate will be open daily until 2am and among the upcoming pop-up events it plans to host will be big screen sports, including Wimbledon, cinema nights, record fairs, vintage clothing markets and yoga classes.
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