Celeb haunt club back open after licence reprieve
A CITY centre nightclub has reopened for the first time after having its licence revoked last month.
Toy BoX closed in the wake of a series of violent incidents – one of which saw a man stabbed outside the venue in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
The Queen Street venue, which is now under new management, was temporarily stripped of its licence after a man in his 20s suffered what were initially ‘lifethreatening’ injuries when he was knifed in the stomach and arm.
Police said the attack, one of two serious assaults within a few hours, could have proven fatal.
Town hall chiefs opted to reinstate the licence last month under a strict set of new conditions, including the installation of a metal detecting arch, which customers will have to pass through upon entry and highvisibility jackets and body cameras for bouncers.
All drinks will have to be decanted into plastic cups and customers in the club’s VIP area will not be allowed to pour drinks themselves.
To mark the reopening on Saturday night, club mascot Frankie the bear was back in town to welcome a host of celebrity guests, including Emmerdale’s Anthony Quinlan who plays Pete Barton, Jay Kontzle who plays Billy Fletcher and Asan N’jie who plays his on screen brother Ellis Chapman.
PR manager Dawn Goddard said: “Last night was our first night back in business and, with all the new security measures and management in place, we’re more than happy with how smoothly everything went.”
Since the club opened in Queen Street, formerly Manchester’s Press Club, last summer it has welcomed famous faces including Love Island and The Real Housewives of Cheshire stars, Hollyoaks actress Chelsee Healey, Jody Latham from Shameless, former Coronation Street star Melissa Johns and boxer Anthony Crolla.