Stockport’s music-themed pie shop is moving into Manchester
The existing Stockport site will become fully dedicated to Notion, whilst Come Together will introduce a new all-day breakfast menu and Sunday roast list
Stockport lockdown favourite Ate Days A Week has announced plans to move its award-winning handmade pies and Wigan kebabs to Manchester this spring.
Known for its top tier pies, fresh fish and chips and gourmet sandwiches (not to mention its infamous Wigan kebabs), the music-themed eatery has made quite a name for itself with dishes like Don’t Look Back In Banger and (I Just) Died In Your Barm since launching in 2020.
It’s been a meteoric rise for the brand, which quickly went from being takeaway only to opening a bricks and mortar site in a former chippy on Vernon Street in Stockport.
Image: Ate Days A Week
Now, chef-owner Andy James is moving again, this time into the city centre, having secured a site just off Albert Square to open Ate Days A Week under a new name, Come Together, continuing the Manchester music theme.
As part of the move, he’ll be expanding his menu to include all-day breakfast options and Sunday roasts on the weekend – as well as delivering the dishes for which Ate Days is already known and loved.
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That means the likely return of its three cheese and bone marrow burger sandwich, Live Forcheddar, and perhaps even 2021 British Pie Award winner Pie of the Tiger.
Ate Days A Week’s breakfast pie Bake me up before you Go-Go, stuffed with Olde English sausages, bacon beans, mature cheddar cheese and a homemade hash brown inside shortcrust and puff pastries. / Image: Ate Days A Week
Sharing the news to social media this week, Andy warned followers they were facing their last chance to get pies at the Stockport site. He said: “I think now is the right time to tell you that today is your last chance to get our incredible Award-Winning pies from our Stockport site so, we will be running limited numbers on the menu items today and we will not be on UberEats.”
Explaining that the Stockport site will ‘fully become Notion’, he added, “this wasn’t an easy decision to make but the way the last year has panned out it just makes sense”.
Stating that he wanted to “move Ate Days A Week to a site that allows us to continue to push on with what we do, get bigger and better and fully flourish” he acknowledged that “location will play a vital part” whilst hinting that followers should head over to @cometogethermcr to find out more.
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Image: Ate Days A Week
Ate Days A Week already sells an amazing breakfast pie (Bake Me Up Before You Go Go), which comes stuffed with Olde English sausages, bacon beans, mature cheddar cheese and a homemade hash brown inside shortcrust and puff pastries.
Image: Ate Days A Week
Now, though, chef Andy is looking to build on that with the creation of a new all-day breakfast menu in Manchester at Come Together.
Glimpses teased out on Instagram already have us very excited, showing an epic-looking fry up laden with all the essentials: fried egg, crispy bacon, fat sausages, beans, tomatoes, black pudding and homemade hash browns.
We can’t wait to see what else he comes up with. To keep up to date with further developments ahead of the spring 2022 opening, make sure to follow @cometogethermcr on Instagram.
Thanks to Terminal 2’s major upgrade, now holidays really do start at Manchester Airport
Danny Jones
It’s a phrase that’s almost as old as air travel itself, but luckily, Manchester Airport are well and truly getting your holidays started early, courtesy of the new and improved Terminal 2.
T2‘s massive upgrade technically finished in 2025, but with other bits debuting already this year and even more to come in 2026, Manchester’s biggest terminal is a more fully-fledged travel hub than ever.
Complete everything from the essentials and a healthy supply of food and drink, to lots of luxuries and plenty of ways to unwind and kill time between both before and after flights, you can feel extra smug about getting to the airport early.
As part of their latest ‘Terminal Explorer’ campaign, we recently paid a visit to see just how much fun we could get up to in and around T2. Spoilers: quite a lot.
With a little help from their wayfinding screens dotted around the various areas, from the World Duty Free section and ever-growing internal shopping district, to all the bars and restaurants that have opened since the big refurb, we took ourselves on a very fun day out.
And that was without even having an actual holiday booked to look forward to, so just imagine how good it must feel to top all this off with a real trip away.
In fact, you don’t even need to think that hard about it; roughly 80% of all passengers heading in and out of Manchester Airport now come through T2, and with the experience improving all the time, they’re seeing a serious uptick in visitors and their time spent enjoying some leisure before their getaway.
From additions like the LEGO store to keep the kids entertained, as well as numerous places to grab a brew, a bite, or even your first adult beverage of the holiday, it’s up to you how you choose to explore – they’ve just given you plenty of options.
There’s no bigger testament to the latest hospitality offerings in Terminal 2 than the recently opened Great Northern Market, which brings a rather big taste of the Mackie Mayor vibe to Manchester Airport.
A VERY comfortable place to wind down any wait times before you fly.
You’ll be blown away by the amount of choice on offer in here – we certainly were – and, of course, the multi-vendor culinary destination epicentre is just one of many fantastic food and drink offerings now boasted by the T2 ‘2.0.’
For instance, we could happily spend most of the time before our next hypothetical flight just chilling in the super stylish Fever-Tree Bar, which includes a wonderful range of breakfast and light bites, charcuterie boards, small plates, sandwiches and so on – plus a cocktail menu perfect for any occasion.
Put simply, you’ve now been given all the tools and means to turn downtime of almost any duration into an excuse to explore Manchester Airport at its best; in fact, scratch that: it’s an opportunity to go for a wander and make the most of it – and it’s one you don’t want to waste.
Whether it’s stocking up pre-flight or kicking back with your first drink of many, don’t just be another person sitting watching the departures board, be a terminal explorer.
Iconic Manchester hotel with secret rooftop bar reveals new look and rebrand
Daisy Jackson
Manchester will say goodbye to Hotel Gotham, one of the city’s most iconic hotels, as it announces a major rebrand.
The luxurious five-star hotel has announced a ‘new era’, and will be rebranding to The Rex next month.
Hotel Gotham is a real landmark in the city centre, a striking art deco building that was previously a bank for Manchester’s elite.
The building converted from a bank into a hotel back in 2015, a few years after Jamie Oliver took over the ground floor with a Jamie’s Italian restaurant (it’s now Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay).
Over the last decade, Hotel Gotham has become one of Manchester’s top-rated premium hotels, as well as being home to a secret rooftop bar and member’s club.
But now it’s apparently time for a refresh, as it announces its new identity as The Rex.
Leonardo Limited Edition UK has promised that the elegant art deco history of the building will be preserved and reinterpreted.
The 60-room hotel will ‘continue to celebrate its historic grandeur but introduce a modern style’.
Central to the rebrand is The Reserve, the private members’ club at The Rex, which is hidden up on the seventh floor behind vault-like doors.
Hotel Gotham will officially rebrand to The Rex next month. Credit: Supplied
High above the city with three rooftop terraces, The Reserve will offer everything from daytime working to relaxed drinks and small plates to members, as well as an events space called The Treasury.
The hotel’s main restaurant and bar will also be given a refresh, serving afternoon teas, five-course tasting menus, live entertainment, and private dining spaces.
Jenny Oh, general manager of The Rex, said: “While our name has evolved, the hotel our guests know and love remains very much the same.
“This rebrand is an expressive upgrade, retaining the character, comfort, and connection people cherish, while introducing a more modern, sophisticated expression of who we are today.
“It reflects our commitment to our guests, our team, and the community we’re proud to be part of, while honouring the history that has shaped us.”
The Rex rebrand will officially be in place from 23 April, with bed and breakfast rooms priced from £179.
Georgina Pellant -
14th January 2022 
