Get Baked has shared another major update on its move to Manchester – and while things are delayed, the plans are looking bigger than ever.
The viral bakery, famed for its gigantic chocolate ‘Bertha’, was set to open in the Northern Quarter in November.
But they’ve now confirmed the whole process has been delayed until February or spring next year.
The good news is that it’ll be worth the wait – Get Baked is now taking over the unit next door on Stevenson Square too, so it’s an even bigger space for its incredible coffee, pie, and a slice of its legendary 24-layer chocolate cake.
The Leeds-founded brand then teased that they’re bringing ‘monumental changes to our existing offering’ – and ones that ‘nobody will have seen coming’.
Whatever those changes are, they’ll then be rolled out to Get Baked’s Headingley store too.
Summing up what to expect in Manchester, they wrote: “It’ll sort of be like if Greggs shagged Gail’s but it happened in America so there’s sprinkles and unhealthy sh*t just absolutely everywhere.”
And explaining the delay, they said: “I announced the opening of Manchester a few months ago now, and explained that we were hoping for a November opening.
“That obviously hasn’t happened, which is sad, and unfortunately if you miss November, December is a bit of a write off because of Christmas, and so is January because tradespeople like to go back to work half way through the f*cking month.
“In all honesty though, even February is looking unlikely.
“The delay started (oxymoron?) because the renovation of our bakery took a lot longer than planned — we have doubled the size of the space that we moved into earlier in the year, which has been a lot of work, and it’s still ongoing.
“We have already outgrown the newly doubled space, but luckily for us, the unit next door to the one we have just taken, is now up for lease.
Get Baked announces delay to first Manchester bakery – and ‘monumental’ changes
“So, we’re taking that space too, which will mean not only will I be sh*tting my pants at the thought of our overheads, but we’ll also be in a position where we can finally rollout stores the way we want to.”
Their statement also said: “In regard to the pending concept changes, I’ll leave you with this…
“In 2021 when I restarted Get Baked, I had a vision to create my own version of Greggs.
“Greggs is a truly wonderful situation, but it’s got too big for its boots in many ways hasn’t it.
“I’ve never been able to live out my fantasy of creating my version of Greggs, but half a million slices of Bruce (and Bertha) later, I’m nearly there. F*ck Greggs?”
You can keep up with the latest updates on Get Baked Manchester HERE.
Northern Quarter favourite The Pen and Pencil announces massive 10th birthday party and huge offers
Daisy Jackson
The Pen and Pencil, an absolute staple for brunches and drinks in the Northern Quarter, is celebrating a major milestone this month with a huge party and some unbeatable deals.
The bar and restaurant will be marking 10 years on Tariff Street in September – and it’s only right that we all pile in to celebrate with them.
This spot is one of the city’s original bottomless brunch venues and is similarly famed for its happy hour offerings, and opened in 2015 to bring a taste of Manhattan to Manchester.
Pen and Pencil took its name from the infamous New York City bar that was seen in Mad Men.
And now as it turns 10 years old, it’ll be throwing one big party on Saturday 27 September, featuring 10 hours of DJs, free pints of Red Stripe at 10pm, and a special bottomless brunch offering.
Those DJing on the day will include Drag Race UK’s Banksie, as well as Les Croasdaile, Mark Hogg, Danny Ward and A Deeper Groove.
Pen & Pencil has amazing deals for its 10th birthdayPen & Pencil is a Northern Quarter OG
The Pen and Pencil 10th birthday party will kick off from 2pm and run until late – but if you can’t make that one, there’ll be celebrations all week (and, indeed, month) long.
On Tuesday 23 September, you’ll be able to play for double prize money in The Pen and Pencil quiz, as well as enjoying happy hour drinks all night.
Then on Friday 26 September, it’ll be an all-night happy hour, with free tequila shots at 10pm and music from DJs Nev Johnson and Gareth James from 7pm.
All September long, there’ll be 50% off food every Monday, two-for-£10 cocktails every Wednesday, £10 burgers every Thursday, happy hour all night on Fridays, 10 dishes for £10 and two bloody Marys for £10 on Sundays, plus DJs on Fridays and Saturdays.
There’s a new colourful art installation outside the venue inspired by the bar’s New York roots.
Owner Kevin Connor said: “We’re really excited to be celebrating being part of the Manchester community for ten years!
“New York’s Pen and Pencil was a classic steak and cocktail joint, and we’re proud to have created our very own iconic Northern Quarter hangout. We hope everyone will join us in celebrating ten years on Tariff Street.”
Walk-ins are welcome for The Pen and Pencil 10th birthday party on Saturday 27 September, but booking is encouraged – book your spot HERE.
Featured image: The Manc Group
Eats
Manchester restaurant to give out FREE katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’
Emily Sergeant
In what is a small stroke of genius, a restaurant chain has decided to give out free katsu curries to anyone called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’.
Throughout September, award-winning restaurant chain Banana Tree – which has a Greater Manchester site down at Salford Quays – is shining the spotlight on its popular katsu creations, and as a clever way of celebrating National Katsu Day on 27 September has announced a pretty unique giveaway.
That’s right – the restaurant will be serving up katsu dishes to people called Kat, Sue, and every delicious variation of the names in between.
Anyone named Kat, Katie, Katherine, Sue, Suzy, Susan, Suzanne – or close enough to qualify, the list goes on – can head to their local Banana Tree restaurant, and all they’ll need to do is show proof of name and they can enjoy a free katsu dish of their choice, worth up to £16.75.
The chain’s kastu lineup includes three star dishes.
First there’s the much-loved Katsu Curry, as well as the all-new Katsu Burger, which is made from either a crispy chicken or veggie fillet, spicy mayo, puffed noodle crunch, and a drizzle of Katsu sauce tucked into a soft Shokupan bun with a side of salt n pepper chilli chips.
Then there’s also the intriguing newcomer, the Katsu Carbonara – which is described as being a daring East-meets-West mash-up and ‘unapologetically’ Banana Tree.
Banana Tree is giving away free katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’ / Credit: Banana Tree
With each of these dishes usually priced around the £16 mark, the giveaway isn’t just a way of marking National Katsu Day, but it’s also a way to sample the some of the restaurant’s biggest crowd-pleasers entirely free of charge.
To avoid any confusion on who makes the cut, Banana Tree will reveal the full qualifying list of name variations on Instagram soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
“Our Katsu range is one of our proudest creations, so National Katsu Day felt like the perfect moment to have some fun with our fans,” a Banana Tree spokesperson said ahead of the giveaway.
The free katsu offer is available for four days only from Monday 22 to Thursday 25 September, and you just need to head to the Banana Tree website to sign up to the Big Flavour Club here.
Daisy Jackson -
14th December 2024 
