R2 and Igloo applying Babycream

Cream, the clubbing empire and one of Liverpool’s best known exports, is launching a nationwide DJ bar and restaurant chain from this autumn, designed by R2 Architecture and Igloo Design.

Called Babycream and created by Liverpool restaurant and bar operator Lyceum Group and Cream founder James Barton, the first venue opens at Liverpool’s Albert Dock in October.

Additional sites have already been acquired in Manchester, Leeds and Swansea, to be refurbished in the next 12 months, and the brand has its sights on cities including Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The bar is aiming for a ‘stylish lounge bar aesthetic’, according to Lyceum co-founder Rob Gutmann. Cream’s branding will be applied to a degree to the sites, but they ‘won’t come across as Cream bars’, he adds.

‘The brand is synonymous with sparse warehouse clubs, but Babycream is the opposite – it’s scaled down and all about luxury.’

Babycream Liverpool is housed in a Grade I listed space with stone floors and a brick vaulted ceiling, says R2 director Richard Eastwood, who designed all the interiors. Igloo Design has created graphics, ranging from menus to signage.