Imaginarium Bistro launches at Prescot's Market Place

Imaginarium Bistro opened in the new building on Market Place, next to Prescot Parish Church to begin its aim of serving food, cocktails and bringing people together.

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Gaynor and Francesco La Rocca have launched the new premises at Market Place in Prescot.

Gaynor La Rocca

Crowds gathered at a launch to enjoy a spectacular programme of entertainment including live music, fire dancers and a colourful community parade, with ice skating and even some snow to create a winter wonderland for all the family.

with a seasonal ice rink on the premises of its Piazza for its first weekend.

Imaginarium Bistro is the sister company of the Imaginarium Theatre company who are known for putting on outdoor productions and pop-up Shakespeare performances.

Imaginarium's spectacular launch

Also a stone’s throw from the site where Prescot’s Shakespeare North Playhouse is being built, the Imaginarium Bistro aims to bring creative culture and community spirit to an area which has historically been a hive of activity in Prescot.

The Bistro will serve Italian and Mediterranean food with a mix of cocktails and great drinks and is hoped to be a place that brings people together through food, drink, events and celebrating good times.

Also, the Imaginarium Bistro will be bringing an exciting family events programme to the Piazza, hosted in their brand new Story Tent.

Market Place is the final public realm development and the biggest single project of the Prescot Townscape Heritage Initiative, which has to date also repaired and restored 16 historic buildings in the town centre. The transformation has been funded by Knowsley Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Gaynor is artistic director and CEO of Prescot-based Imaginarium Theatre and husband Francesco, a property lawyer, is also an actor with the theare company with a huge passion for food.

Gaynor has extensive experience of organising large and small scale high-profile creative events, most notably during her four years as a Creative Communities Manager for Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008.

Francesco is also the son of Filadelo La Rocca who owned and ran a number of successful restaurants and cafes in Prescot, Rainhill and Widnes and opened Rocco’s an Italian restaurant on Eccleston Street in Prescot in the late seventies which and ran this for more than 10 years.

They said: "The opening event of Imaginarium Bistro and our new event space - the piazza at Market Place, was amazing!

"Thank you to everyone who performed, participated in the parade, and came to support us, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did."