Eats

Manchester bar Cottonopolis announces closure after eight years in the Northern Quarter

Whoa this is big news.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 3rd January 2024

One of the Northern Quarter’s staple bars and restaurants has announced its closure today.

Cottonopolis, which has sat on the corner of Newton Street and Dale Street since 2015, will not reopen after its busy festive period, owners have confirmed.

The Asian-inspired restaurant and bar has already shut its doors for good – but there’s a new concept planned for the space.

The historic Grade II-listed site will undergo a full renovation and relaunch with a brand new food and drink offering in early 2024.

Owners Nick and Hayley Muir have made the decision to close Cottonopolis after eight years, believing it has ‘reached the end of its journey in its current guise’.

They say the restaurant, which served Japanese food and high-end cocktails, will be replaced by something ‘something just as fresh’.

The Cottonopolis team are also behind The Edinburgh Castle in Ancoats – so we’ve got high hopes for whatever is next in the Northern Quarter.

That 200-year-old pub had been derelict for years before Nick and Hayley took it on and transformed it into what’s already been recognised as one of the best gastropubs in the UK.

They’ve yet to confirm what direction the Cottonopolis site will go in, but are promising an ‘exciting new concept.

Cottonopolis in Manchester's Northern Quarter has announced its closure. Credit: The Manc Group
Cottonopolis in Manchester’s Northern Quarter has announced its closure. Credit: The Manc Group
Cottonopolis in Manchester's Northern Quarter has announced its closure. Credit: The Manc Group
Cottonopolis in Manchester’s Northern Quarter has announced its closure. Credit: The Manc Group

Nick Muir, director, said: “Cottonopolis has become known as a staple part of the Northern Quarter bar and restaurant scene, we believe we’ve reached the end of our journey in its current guise.

“It’s been great, we’ve thrown some great parties, hosted weddings and worked with fantastic brands but we want to do something just as fresh. Like when it first came onto the NQ scene. It feels like the right time to bring an exciting new concept.

“We’ve already been hard at work with our team behind the scenes to develop our next adventure, which will bring a new quality place to eat and drink to the NQ, with the same exceptional standards we’ve become known for at Edinburgh Castle.

“We’d like to thank all of our guests for their loyalty over the last eight years, and we’re looking forward to sharing the next part of our journey with you.”

Further details will be revealed later this month, with plans to reopen to the public early 2024.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

The first new tenant of the old Debenhams department store on Market Street has been confirmed

Danny Jones Danny Jones new food hall opening in Ryland building old Debenhams department store Manchester

The first new resident of the Rylands Building on Market Street in central Manchester has been revealed, and it’s a foodie one.

Set to be the maiden opening inside the old Debenhams department store, which closed after more than three decades back in 2021, Rylands’ debut won’t be for another year or so, but it will soon welcome Mancs with an increasingly popular food hall operator making its way up north.

Simply called Market Place, the ever-growing brand is fast becoming a well-established name, with four venues in the capital already and a fifth coming soon.

Rylands will be their first location outside of London, and with 1,300 sqm of space at their disposal, Market Place Manchester is set to make a significant splash on the high street.

market place food halls london
A look at Market Place Peckham.
market place food hall manchester city centre
A rough idea of what the Manchester branch could look like.

Developers managed to green-light plans for the Grade II-listed building last November, sharing the first details and glimpses of their vision for the instantly recognisable city centre spot, including a whole new rooftop terrace.

Currently earmarked for a late 2026 launch, the former department store (previously Paulden’s) consisted of seven floors but is now set for a four-storey extension that promises to be a massive and varied retail, leisure and business destination that makes the most of the expansive structure.

Not to be confused with the famous John Rylands Library – a much older, more gothic, historic and hallowed hall over on Deansgate – this task of ‘revitalising a Manchester icon’, to quote property firm AM ALPHA, is a huge undertaking.

In charge of the redevelopment since 2023, the group have been outlining a pretty complete overhaul, with plans to convert the upper floors into premium office space, and the creation of a retail arcade at ground level, on which Market Place Manchester will sit.

This particular Manc corner was a bustling food, drink and shopping complex for the longest time, but has been derelict and covered up by boards for what feels like forever, with urban explorers even roaming the large, abandoned building.

rylands building market st manchester
Credit: Supplied

Now, though, the new long-term 15-year lease agreement will see the latest food hall kick off a new era for Rylands, delivering socially focused venues and the range of flavourful, vibrant choices of scran that Market Place have become known for.

With sites in St Paul’s, Vauxhall, Peckham, Harrow and soon Baker Street – as well as their eventual Manchester outpost, of course – the chain is getting bigger and better, meaning its arrival in the North West is an exciting one.

AM ALPHA manager Paul Hodgkiss said in an official statement: “Manchester is a city with a vibrant cultural scene – the perfect environment for forward-thinking concepts like Market Place Food Hall…

“The early commitment to Rylands is no coincidence: it reflects the strength of our strategic and forward-looking approach to development. We are not just creating high-quality space – we are setting new standards for urban mixed-use concepts. Interest from further prospective tenants is strong.”

It was only last week that Greater Manchester’s latest market hall, Campfield Studios, said hello to the general public and with House of Social also opening this summer, among several other similar projects, soon you won’t be able to move for more social hospitality scenes like this:

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Featured Images — Press shots/CGIs (supplied)

Eats

Hotel Chocolat to open viral chocolate Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Hotel Chocolat to open viral chocolate Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester

Hotel Chocolat is set to open a Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester city centre, and it’ll be absolute paradise for chocolate lovers.

The popular chocolate shop, which has stores across the UK selling delicious chocolate bars, boxes and more, is now preparing to branch out in town.

Hotel Chocolat then hit a new level of fame with its Velvetiser, an invention that creates velvety smooth hot drinks at the touch of a button.

They’ve been so popular, Hotel Chocolat is now opening Velvetiser Cafes across the UK – and Manchester is up next.

If it follows in the footsteps of the Meadowhall cafe in Sheffield, visitors will be able to customise their perfect hot chocolate from thousands of combinations.

There are 18 flavours, different milks, and a whole variety of toppings available.

Then you drink can be served hot, over ice, or as a choc shake.

Colourful hoardings for the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser Cafe have now appeared on Cross Street, just next door to the new Joe & The Juice.

A planning application has also been lodged with Manchester City Council.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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