Two school pals who clubbed together to open their first restaurant just over two years ago are now opening their second venture here at The Rock.
Ata Mubeen and Luke Rafferty are making the final touches as they prepare to open West Ivy, which they say will offer a dining experience found in places such as Manchester and London but without the city centre price tag.
The duo already own and operate Smoke Yard in Oldham and have enjoyed great success since opening in 2015.
The pair has extended and transformed their unit at The Rock, adding a new bar, toilets, seating and outside lighting. They will officially open on Thursday 25th January.
Ata said: “We believe dining has evolved massively over recent years and it has become such a big part of peoples’ social lives. At West Ivy we believe dining is not just about good food and drink but about the whole experience. That’s why everything we offer is special, from the décor – which incorporates a botanical theme with touches of Italian marble and dim filament lighting – to the music which incorporates Motown, R&B, Blues, Hip-Hop, Soul and Pop. This all creates a great atmosphere, whether you’re popping in for a quick drink or making an evening of it with a booking. And of course the food and drink has plenty of twists from your usual restaurant.”
The restaurant’s menu includes grilled food, smoked food, world dishes and afternoon tea and choices include hanging barbequed skewers, steaks, burgers, halloumi fries, Brazilian curries, exotic salads and more.
The drinks menu features everything from craft lagers, ales and cocktails to artisan coffee, freak shakes and a candy floss prosecco.
Explaining why they’re opening at The Rock, Luke added: “We really loved the look and feel of The Rock especially with its growing restaurant scene. We often come shopping here and could see how busy and alive it is as well as offering high quality retailers that are only usually found in city centres.
“The people of Bury have such a strong and welcoming community which made us want to bring something truly unique to its dining scene.”
West Ivy will be located in The Rock’s leisure quarter close to Frankie and Benny’s and Pizza Express.
Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director at The Rock, said: “We’re really excited to welcome West Ivy to the The Rock and we’re sure the restaurant will be a big hit with our visitors. This is a great addition to our tenant line-up and complements our leisure offering very well. The pair has had great success in Oldham and we wish them every success here in Bury.”
A lucky shopper is celebrating after winning £1,000 in vouchers following a magical Christmas competition at The Rock.
The shopping and leisure destination marked the launch of its famous land train ‘The Rock Express’ with a morning of festive fun before giving away the prize to Daniel Flynn from Bury.
Following an on air competition with Tower FM – where listeners could win a seat on the first ride of the train on Saturday 2nd December – 15 shoppers were invited to the centre where they took part in a host of games, including Christmas Bingo, The Price is Right and Pass the Parcel, before picking their seat on the train.
Once on board they were told to look under their seat and grab the envelope stuck beneath it – each contained a voucher prize, and the biggest one was for £1,000 of vouchers to spend at The Rock.
The top prize was scooped by 31-year-old Daniel, whose partner Nicole Wood and three children Lilly-Mae, five, Jacob, two, and 11-month-old Cody were watching in the crowd.
There were tears as Daniel opened the prize and cheers from the rest of the finalists – who each won a voucher to spend at The Rock.
Daniel said: “I’m speechless, I can’t believe we’ve won.”
Nicole added: “You’ve made our Christmas – we’re so happy.”
The family were presented with vouchers for stores of their choice and enjoyed a spending spree at The Entertainer, Debenhams, Primark, JD and River Island.
The Rock Express is a free transport service which runs between the Peel Monument (by the Parish Church) and St John’s Square (opposite Costa at The Rock), every day from 10am – 4pm.*
Although this service is free donations are accepted for The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity.
Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director at The Rock, said: “The Rock Express is a hugely popular attraction every Christmas and we wanted to mark its arrival in a special way – we’re thrilled to have been able to give away £1,000 in vouchers to Daniel and his family and we hope this will make their Christmas magical!”
The countdown for Christmas in Bury has officially started after thousands of people attended the Christmas Lights Switch On at The Rock.
Our big switch on event in conjunction with Tower FM on Thursday 9th November, featuring a star line up including children’s favourite Mr Bloom from CBeebies and pop sensation 5 After Midnight.
Singers and dancers from The Carol Godby Theatre Workshop and Bolton-singer Emilia also featured in the show, while Santa and his stilt-walking elves mingled with the crowds.
It was an extra special night for Carol Howarth from Bury who won a family trip to Lapland in the centre’s ‘Be Santa, See Santa’ competition. Throughout the evening visitors could have their photo taken wearing a Santa hat and beard at Tower FM’s Santa stations on The Rock.
Just before the lights were turned on Carol found out she had scooped the main prize and was invited on stage to claim it.
Prior to the show starting 10 lucky competition winners were given the star treatment at Debenhams restaurant for a special pre-show party with Mr Bloom and after the show 5 After Midnight met some of their biggest fans.
The event marked the beginning of the Christmas season for The Rock. The centre’s Santa’s Grotto will officially open on Saturday 25th November following the Santa’s Arrival parade in the morning and The Rock Express will return in December to transport festive shoppers around the town until the end of the month.
The Rock’s centre director, Arnold Wilcox-Wood, said: “Our Christmas Lights Switch On has become a firm fixture in the centre’s event calendar and gets bigger and better every year – and this year was no exception. The line-up was a huge hit with the crowd and we gave a way some wonderful prizes throughout the night which were donated by our retailers. The Christmas spirit was certainly alive and well and we were thrilled to see so many families enjoying themselves.”
Our competition to win a dream family holiday to Mexico worth £3,500 has now concluded and we were thrilled to inform Amanda Galvin and family from Walshaw, Bury, that she had bagged the prize for her and her family.
Amanda was picked at random from the hundreds of entries and will enjoy the dream trip with husband Howard, Annie, 10 and Izzy 7, to the dream trip.
The Feeling Hot Hot Hot at The Rock Rock Rock campaign has been running for the past four weeks in conjunction with Key 103 and Thomas Cook. As well as the holiday giveaway we’ve also held smaller competitions each Saturday.
The fun concluded last Saturday (August 19th) when shoppers could have a go on our spin the wheel game to try and win an instant prize. Unfortunately our plans to use the beach for the competition were scuppered by the British weather – but there were still plenty of smiling faces when the prizes were won from the spin the wheel.
Friends and supporters of the Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity came together for a super hero themed day at The Rock to mark Josh’s 17th birthday.
For the second year running, the shopping and leisure destination, hosted a Super Heroes for Super Josh Day to raise funds and awareness for the charity.
Throughout the day, on August 10th, there was face painting, games and visits from Super Man, Spider Man and Wonder Woman to celebrate Super Josh’s birthday.
The Mayor of Bury, Councillor Dorothy Gunther, also attended the event. In total the day raised more than £450 for the cause.
The charity aims to help other families living with childhood brain tumours and post-operative complications.
The Rock’s centre director, Arnold Wilcox-Wood, said: “Super Josh was a regular visitor to The Rock and we are proud to now be involved with his charity, which we have supported for the past few years. Marking Josh’s birthday in super hero style is of course the most fitting way to celebrate and we were pleased see so many visitors enjoying the day.”
If you’re shopping for a new gym membership, you will soon be able to workout at The Rock, as PureGym is moving in.
PureGym, the largest gym operator in the UK with 180+ sites, is transforming the former Fit For Free into a state of the art fitness centre for all ages and abilities.
The brand new gym will have everything you need to improve your fitness and wellbeing, ranging from a massive collection of market-leading kit to a large timetable of free classes.
PureGym’s contract-free memberships will give you the freedom to start and stop at any time and you will be able to workout at a time to suit you as the gym will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
So, get shopping for some new gym kit as you’ll soon be able to give your fitness a boost in your favourite shopping centre.
Families turned out in full force to enjoy a host of free summer activities at The Rock at the weekend.
Saturday, July 29th, marked the first day of the shopping and leisure destination’s competition to win a dream family holiday to Mexico.
The centre is also running four different activities each Saturday – it started with the chance to win holiday currency by stepping into a cash grabber and trying to get hold of a winning ticket.
Leah Cassidy from Radcliffe, Andrew Burgess from Radcliffe, Alana Hall from Bury, Adam Fisher from Preston and Adrian Tindace from Newcastle upon Tyne each managed to grab a winning ticket and win £50 worth of a currency of their choice.
The centre is once again hosting a beach complete with deck chairs, a giant deck chair, waterball walkers which will be in place until the end of the summer break and was joined by The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity running face painting and balloon modelling.
Running until 5pm on Saturday, August 19th, visitors can pick up an entry form – in the guise of a boarding pass – from participating retailers and then must find the numbers which make up the code and enter for their chance to win. One lucky winner will then be chosen at random to scoop the £3,500 prize.
The Rock’s centre director, Arnold Wilcox-Wood, said: “It’s always wonderful to see so many families enjoying our summer attractions and this weekend was no exception. Remember our Mexico holiday competition runs until 19th August so come down and complete the boarding pass puzzle – you’ve got to be in it to win it!”
Shoppers visiting The Rock during the school holidays could be in with a chance of winning a dream family holiday to Mexico.
We’re running a competition to win the £3,500 prize – and entries open on Saturday 29th July.
Visitors to the centre can pick up an entry form – in the guise of a boarding pass – from participating retailers and then must find the numbers which make up the code and enter for their chance to win.
The boarding pass puzzle will run until August 19th. Each Saturday from July 29th to the end of the competition there will also be four extra activities, all based on holidays.
On Saturday 29th July there will be a cash grabber where shoppers will have a chance to win holiday currency.
On Saturday 5th August visitors can pose in a beach-themed peep board and share their photo online with the #hotattherock for the chance to win a haul of holiday essentials. There’ll also be Sombrero biscuit decorating in conjunction with Bury College.
On Saturday 12th August, the challenge will be to crack the code on the a chest of goodies to win the contents and on the final Saturday of the summer of fun, on Saturday 19th August, the beach at the centre will be transformed into a game for people to dig for buried treasure and win a range or prizes.
All throughout the summer holidays the centre will also host a beach, giant deck chair and its popular water ball walkers as well as face painting to raise funds for the Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity.
The Rock’s centre director, Arnold Wilcox-Wood, said: “The school holidays are a great time for all the family, but we know that keeping everyone entertained can be a challenge, that’s why we’re hosting a variety of activities to keep the children – and the adults – entertained. There’s some great prizes up for grabs, including a dream holiday to Mexico, so visit us to enter, after all you’ve got to be in it to win it.”
Father’s Day is just around the corner and here at The Rock we know just how tricky it can be to find the perfect gift for that special dad or granddad – so to make it easier this year we’ve pulled together a handy gift guide of Father’s Day presents available from retailers at The Rock.
Put a smile on his face with a delicious giant cookie personalised with a message of your choice from Millie’s Cookies. Prices start at £14.99.
Over at Debenhams there’s plenty of accessories for dapper dads from prime leather men’s bags, wallets and to elegant formalwear with a choice of ties and pocket squares with gifts to suit all budgets.
Does your dad love a cuppa? Or maybe a whiskey is his tipple? From pint pots to flasks there’s a range of special gifts available at The Card Factory, with mugs starting from £2.99.
Maybe dad needs to relax and enjoy a pamper, if that’s the case head to Lush and treat him to one of their Father’s Day gift bundles and let him have some ‘me time’. From budget bath-bombs to full gift sets the store has something to suit every pocket.
Treat him to a new scent from The Perfume Shop – as part of the store’s Father’s Day promotion there’s some great discounts on some much-loved aftershaves.
From toffees to t-shirts and whiskey to real ales there’s an endless choice of treats in store at M&S – make sure you don’t open them before you gift them.
And don’t forget the card!
However you plan on wishing your dad a Happy Father’s Day on Sunday 18th June, visit The Rock for the perfect gift.
A five day fashion and beauty spectacular held at The Rock in Bury proved a huge hit with shoppers getting ready for summer.
Style Your Summer, now in its third year at the centre, included a pamper zone for visitors to indulge in free makeovers, a style clinic offering beauty advice and fashion shows featuring the summer’s hottest trends.
Visitors enjoyed free hair styling, manicures and makeup and style experts were on hand to guide shoppers on what colours and fabrics suited their body type and skin tone and which summer looks they should be going for.
The week was topped off with a series of fashion shows where models showcased the latest trends from stores at the centre including River Island, Topshop, Topman, Primark, Simply Be, Debenhams, Burton, Dorothy Perkins and more.
There was also entertainment from the Ruff Diamonds street dance crew and dancers from The Zone in Bury.
Arnold Wilcox-Wood, centre director of The Rock, said: “Our Style Your Summer showcase has become a firm fixture in our events calendar and once again proved to be a huge success. Not only did the event showcase the latest summer styles available here at The Rock it was also an opportunity for our visitors to indulge in free pamper treatments and style advice.
“Our fashion shows once again drew in the crowds and I’m pleased to say over the course of the week our generous shoppers also helped us to raise more than £250 for our partner charity, The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity.”
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