Joan Scales
Cinema lovers of all ages will be happy to hear the Stella in Rathmines is coming back and soon, probably this summer. The Dublin-based Pressup Entertainment Group have purchased the 94 year old cinema and are well on the way to returning it to its former glory. The cinema will revert to its original style of one large venue distinguished by its newly restored decorative ceiling.
The plan is to screen blockbuster films and art house movies. The interior will be highly comfortable with bespoke furniture and stylish interiors, evoking a burlesque-luxe ambiance. Uniquely, the building will also house a cocktail bar with its own entrance.
The next year will be a busy time for directors Paddy McKillen, junior, and Matt Ryan of the Pressup Group with two hotels and two new restaurant/bars, already in the pipeline and perhaps more to come. The one theme running across all the new businesses is that they will have rooftop bars and restaurants following the latest trend in New York.
The newest bar and restaurant, Dollard & Co, will open this summer beside the Clarence Hotel. The crowds are expected to flock to the new city venue with its outdoor views over the Liffey. Another attraction will be an upmarket food outlet on the ground floor as well as a number of other attractions due to be unveiled later this year. .
On the corner of Aungier Street and Digges Lane Upper, the former Aungier House bar has just been added to the Pressub portfolio and will open as a bar later in the year after being closed for the best part of 20 years. The red brick building, sold on behalf of the City Council for around €800,000, will require susbantial refurbishment.
The two hotels in the pipeline will encourage use by local communities by offering lobby cafes and free “full fat” (super fast) wifi to everyone and sockets to keep t hem up to speed. The 41-bed hotel in Ranelagh will have a small in-house cinema as well as meeting rooms. The village centre will also feature a and will be a rock up and roll venue. Unusually, it will have no parking but easy access to Luas and bus services.
The other hotel at the junction of the North Wall and Castleforbes Road will be a conversion of an old redbrick warehouse which will find new life as a independent 60-bed boutique hotel. Deep in the docklands the hotel will be located close to the Central Bank and is expected to become the local food and watering venue for the many corporate entities in this area. It too will have a rooftop bar with great views up and down the river.
The Pressup Entertainment Group was founded in 2010 and the first bar was the exclusive Vintage Cocktail Club on Crown Alley. Also in the group are the Workmans Bar, Bison Bar, The Liquor Room, Captain America’s, the Clarence Hotel, the Dean Hotel, Angelina’s , and Wowburger to name just some.