A popular Jamaican street food takeaway in Manchester’s Northern Quarter is being forced to close its doors after its building was sold to new owners.
Currently housed inside the Ride Low building on Church Street, Eat n’ Sweet has been a fixture here since 2014 – but its owners are on the hunt for a new space, having been given just six weeks’ notice to find somewhere else to go.
Renowned for cooking up some of the best curry goat in the city, Eat n’ Sweet is headed up by husband and wife team Dean and Marianne Ricketts and regularly has queues stretching out of the door.
Now with a move-out date now set for 13 April, they are appealing to customers and other local businesses nearby to help them find somewhere new to go and continue their roaring trade.
Curry goat, rice and peas with veg and pasta at Eat n’ Sweet. / Image: The Manc Eats
Curry goat, rice and peas with veg and pasta at Eat n’ Sweet. / Image: The Manc Eats
Co-owner Marianne Ricketts tells us: “We’ve looked around at some things in town but the prices are ridiculous. We’re an independent business, you know.
“In the interim, if we don’t find anything we do have a pop-up van but we don’t know, we’ve seen a few spots but with licensing a lot of areas are restricted within the city centre.”
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She adds, however, that their real goal is to find a new shop and that they’d much rather find a new home this way.
With room for just three people to sit and eat at once, their current home inside the Ride Low building (itself a fixture on Church Street for three decades) is small but mighty, with crowds flocking into their tiny corner kitchen takeaway in their droves.
It’s the sort of place where everyone seems to know each other, and as we sit and eat our lunch of tender curried goat, rice and peas, ackee and salt fish, we overhear each person ask Dean as they place their order and pay at the counter: “Have you found a new space yet?”
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Evidently, it has a big following, and it’s not hard to see why. Food is cooked freshly every day by co-owner Dean, who refuses to cut any corners and seasons and marinades all meat on the menu for 24 hours before serving it up to customers. Marianne describes him as their ‘chef extraordinaire’.
On the menu, you’ll find everything from snacks like fried dumplings and patties as well as fried and jerk chicken, whilst elsewhere there’s a full Jamaican dinners section with the likes of curry goat, oxtail, curried chicken, brown stew and jerk chicken.
A proper authentic Carribbean spot, it would be a shame to see this gem disappear. If you have a unit or know someone who might be able to help, owners are appealing for you to get in touch with them via their Instagram page here.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Eats
A banana pudding bar is opening in Manchester city centre
Daisy Jackson
Buttercup – the viral banana pudding business based in Manchester – has announced the closure of its pop-up space… as it makes way to open its very own standalone site.
The hugely popular pudding brand is set to open its very first location this autumn, bringing a banana pudding bar to the city centre.
Buttercup launched last summer, creating little pots of the hit US dessert made famous by the iconic Magnolia Bakery.
Each dessert features vanilla custard whipped with cream, soft sponge, and fresh banana, which you can then customise with rotating flavours and toppings (like the current sticky cornflake and raspberry, inspired by school dinner puddings).
And now it’s time for Buttercup to bid farewell to its nine-month residency at Deansgate General Store, ahead of launching its own pudding bar.
Since launching, Buttercup has served around 50,000 puddings, hosted sell-out pop-ups across the city, collaborated with some huge brands, and built a loyal following around its signature build-your-own pudding bar.
With this new standalone space, you’ll be able to indulge in its signature banana pudding, plus new flavours and a build-your-own toppings concept, with new toppings including cookie dough bites and brownies. A new drinks menu is also in the works.
Buttercup will leave Deansgate General Store on Monday 31 August, and will reveal its new location in the coming weeks.
Buttercup founder, Natasha Black, said: “This feels like the perfect step for Buttercup. It’s been such a pleasure to call General Store home for the past nine months, and I’m so grateful to the team there for helping us grow into what we are today.
“But as we continue to grow, now feels like the right time for us to step out on our own. I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve been working on and bring Buttercup to life in our own place!”
The new BBQ restaurant beneath a Manchester railway arch where meat is cooked very, VERY slowly
Daisy Jackson
There’s a new BBQ spot beneath a railway arch in Manchester, and it’s cooking its meat very, very slowly.
Sandy’s Smokeshed has just opened in Castlefield, where Sam – and his smoker, Angela – are serving up serious Texas-style BBQ, with queues already stretching out the door.
The idea is simple: take great cuts of meat, cover them generously in seasoning, put them in the smoker and give them all the time they need.
That means beef shin smoked over oak and cherry for 10 hours, eight-hour smoked beef chuck and the Boston Butt, alongside brisket, short ribs, chicken and plenty more.
Sam has always been a fan of BBQ, but decided to take things rather more seriously when he bought the enormous smoker now sitting underneath the arch. It’s a serious piece of kit, cooking the meat from all directions and producing the kind of results where everything practically collapses in your hand.
And the location only adds to the atmosphere. While you’re eating, trains rattle overhead, giving the place an appropriately industrial Manchester soundtrack.
Sandy’s Smokeshed is beneath the arches in CastlefieldOwner Sam seasoning his pulled porkJuicy, pull-apart chicken
The BBQ comes with plenty of proper sides, too, including pit beans and slaw, plus garlic BBQ sauce for pouring over the top.
There are also some particularly good sandwiches, made with Holy Grain sourdough from next door and filled with pulled pork, steak, or braised ox shin.
Sandy’s Smokeshed kicked things off last weekend with a free food, BYOB feast, and judging by the queues, word has travelled quickly.
It’s open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am – but only until they sell out.
Vegetarians, look away now. Everyone else, you’ll want to get there early.
Georgina Pellant -
17th March 2023 
