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News that The Chester Grosvenor will close later this year has been massive news in Chester this past week. This is another chapter in the life of one of Chester’s most iconic buildings. The hotel is expected to return after major refurbishment works. We just do not know when yet. And for a building like this, there is plenty of story to tell in the meantime. The Chester Grosvenor is not just a hotel people know. It’s famous. Sitting right in the heart of the city on Eastgate

This week, Deva Fest reached a majestic milestone of a million pounds in ticket sales, as part of its eight-year journey (minus 2yrs off for Covid) from start up to what is starting to feel like a mid-scale festival success story. Honestly, it feels incredible to even write that. Because when you look at that figure, it is not just about money. It is about growth, belief, resilience, community, and the thousands of people who have chosen to be part of the Deva Fest journey ov

It is a question that sparks a lot of debate: should a food and drink festival have live music, or should the focus stay purely on the food and drink? And honestly, it is a fair debate. For us, this became a big conversation while planning the Cheshire and North Wales Food and Drink Festival. This is not just any new event. This is a festival with 25 years of history behind it. That matters. When something has been loved for that long, you cannot just come in and start changi

There’s a conversation happening in festivals right now that people don’t always see from the outside, because from the outside it still looks like glitter, headline acts, and a big weekend out. But behind the scenes, the gap between independent festivals and the giants is real, and it isn’t just about who’s got the coolest poster or the biggest name at the top of the lineup. It’s about infrastructure. It’s about leverage. It’s about who’s plugged into the whole live music ma

On Thursday we hosted our seventh conference, Great Art of Hospitality. Seventh. If you’d told me a couple of years ago we’d be filling rooms in Manchester talking about placemaking, power, resilience and visitor economies, I’d may not have believed you. Yet there we were, partnering with Downtown in Business, taking over the incredible Treehouse Hotel Manchester with a room full of people who genuinely care about this industry. It was a fantastic day and just wanted to run

I read an article this week saying Chester has been ranked the second fastest-growing hospitality city in the UK and honestly, it stopped me in my tracks. It quoted research from Northern Restaurant & Bar, in partnership with CGA by NielsenIQ, talking about venue growth and how the North is “leading the recovery.” And look, I’m not here to bash Chester. I love Chester. I live and work in Chester. And I have a business in Chester. I’m in hospitality every day. I know how hard