An award-winning independent bakery in Didsbury has shared a heartfelt plea for support as news of ‘yet another coffee chain’ opening around the corner broke.
La Chouquette is widely accepted to be one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries, famed for its traditional French pastries, desserts and cakes.
The queues out the door every weekend speak for themselves – these are almond croissants worth travelling for.
Founded by Mairead Deignan and Florent Verove, La Chouquette has grown in size and gone on to open a second site, Piqniq, serving sandwiches on proper baguettes.
But now the team are concerned about the number of chain coffee shops moving into Didsbury village, saying these large businesses often gravitate towards ‘strong independent communities’.
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They stressed that their independent business doesn’t have shareholders or national marketing budgets, and that every penny spent in-store with La Chouquette goes to paying local wages, and keeping ‘character and originality alive in our high street’.
“If you love having independents in Didsbury, now more than ever your support really matters,” they wrote.
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La Chouquette said: “We need your support now more than ever!
Bread at La ChouquettePiqniq
“Five years ago we took a leap and opened La Chouquette here in Didsbury. We built this little space from scratch — early mornings, long days, pouring everything into creating something special for our community. And you showed up for us. You helped us grow. You made us busy. You made it worth it
“Now we’re seeing yet another coffee chain opening in Didsbury — and while competition is part of business, it’s hard not to notice that they often follow strong independent communities with loyal customer bases.
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“Independent businesses don’t have head offices. We don’t have national marketing budgets. We don’t have shareholders. We have you.
“Every coffee bought from an independent stays local. It pays local wages. It supports local families. It keeps character and originality alive in our high street. If you love having independents in Didsbury, now more than ever your support really matters.
“Thank you for five incredible years. We’re still here going strong, still passionate, still baking, still pouring — and still grateful every single day. We also have some exciting plans for the future, and we can’t wait to share them with you soon!!”
One of Manchester’s grandest restaurants has finally reopened TWO YEARS after fire
Daisy Jackson
One of the most historic restaurants in Manchester has reopened at last, two years after a fire forced its closure.
Mount Street Dining Room & Bar – which many of us may remember as Mr Cooper’s – stands within the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel.
The grand dining room dates all the way back to 1903, when it opened with the hotel as the Grill Room.
The restaurant was at the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution and was frequented by railway travellers, perhaps best-known for hosting a lunch between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in 1904, who went on to form the world-famous Rolls-Royce brand.
The Midland’s restaurants has gone through several changes in the decades since, undergoing a major £14 million refurb in 2020 to relaunch as Mount Street Dining Room & Bar.
Its interiors are inspired by the hotel’s early 1900s art deco and railway heritage, with a menu that focuses on locally-sourced British produce.
But the restaurant has been shut since early 2024, when a fire damaged the entrance and trellising around its main entrance on Mount Street.
The beautiful bar areaA glimpse of the menu at Mount StreetCocktails and British food
The Midland has finally managed to get the restaurant back open again this month, with a new food and cocktail menus, which aims to offer refined but simple British dining.
Expect dishes like pork and black pudding bonbons, white onion soup with crispy potatoes, smoked British salmon with lemon gel and dill mascarpone, and slow cooked beef daube with confit garlic mash.
Plus desserts such as rice pudding with Anise glazed pearsand Bakewell pudding with cherry syrup.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen inside this beautiful, storied dining room – and it looks just as beautiful as we remember.
Daisy Jackson -
8th March 2026 
