GAME FOR A NIGHT OUT?

'ACTIVITY BAR' OPENS WHERE CUSTOMERS CAN TRY OUT SHUFFLEBOARD, CURLING AND ARCHERY

- By JENNA CAMPBELL

STOCKPORT has been having something of a renaissance in recent years.

Currently in the middle of the UK’s largest town centre regeneration, which has been dubbed its £1bn decade, it’s now home to thriving independent streets and a cultural offer to rival Manchester city centre.

A new transport interchange, hundreds of new homes and the revitalisation of the high street earning it the title of ‘the new Berlin’ are just some of the highlights, but it’s also the growing food and drink scene that has really got people talking. Now a group of seasoned hospitality operators - all hailing from Stockport - have decided to join forces and open a first-of-its-kind games bar right at the heart of the bustling high street.

Near the historic quarter, above the Sports Direct shop overlooking the Marketplace, is a greenhouse-esque attic space which has been transformed over the last few months into Loft Social, a venue that’s been designed to bring old-school games to the new Stockport crowd.

Mirroring the structure of Stockport Market, a historic institution in the town which sit just metres away, the venue, has been transformed from an empty storage unit into a contemporary bar kitted out with games spanning curling, petanque, shuffleboard, and archery.