There’s a bakery in Ramsbottom that’s been making waves since it opened last year – but it’s not for cutting-edge bakes or trendy desserts.
Nope – at Loafi, it’s all about stripping things back to basics, with a properly northern menu of old-school bakes.
The bakery may be new, but the baking is not. You’ll find nothing but traditional favourites, including Eccles cakes, shortbread, and cornflake tarts.
And then as your eyes rove across the counter, you’ll land on the star of the show, and the one that’s got everyone (us included) travelling all the way up to Ramsbottom. The custard tart.
Loafi’s custard tarts are tall, like a pastry shot glass filled with just-set egg custard filling.
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You can get them classic, or in a Manchester tart format with coconut and raspberry jam, or catch occasional specials when they have surplus ingredients to spare (we got lucky with a lemon meringue custard tart).
None of us should be surprised to find that this bakery is excelling in this particular field, because the man behind it is chef-turned-baker Rich Sharples, who was previously the executive chef of Gary Usher’s Elite Bistros restaurant group.
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The lemon meringue custard tart specialTraditional bakes from LoafiThe custard tart and Manchester tart
One of those restaurants he was a mastermind of was Hispi, which is known across the region for its perfect wibbly-wobbly custard tart slices.
The custard tart at Loafi feels more nostalgic and approachable though, and the stream of customers pouring through the doors clear each tray within minutes of them landing.
Beyond that, you can pick up a whole host of bakery bits with proudly northern roots, like individual loaf cakes made with Irwell Works stout, and mini carrot and walnut cakes.
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There are others that will whisk you back to your childhood, such as a pineapple and brown butter upside-down cake, and a banana sponge with toffee and cream.
Plus expect treats such as bakewell slices, tiramisu roulade, and flapjacks.
A full spread of bakes at LoafiRich Sharples with the team outside LoafiA selection of butties at LoafiFresh loaves of bread
Loafi has a fabulous savoury offering too, like sausage rolls made with meat from Walmsley’s Butchers, and bacon butties on soft milk rolls.
Around four different sandwiches drop onto the counter at 11am every day, each of them guilt-free, fuss-free, and affordable. Rich believes that getting a butty for lunch shouldn’t feel like a special treat.
The fillings change regularly but are always local ingredients, prepared and made right in front of you, from cured hams and corned beef to coronation chicken.
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During the weekday, you can get this as a meal deal with a sandwich drink and a bag of crisps for £7.95.
There are proper cups of soup served with a wedge of sourdough too, which changes regularly – at the minute, Rich is utilising the stock from his potted ham to make a ham, lentil and tomato soup.
Loafi isn’t setting out to reinvent the wheelhouse, but rather to wind back the clocks to create a nostalgic, quality, Lancashire bakehouse. It’s being incredibly well-received already.
You’ll find Loafi in Ramsbottom – just follow the call of the custard tart.
‘Do not let Britain’s independent businesses disappear on your watch’ – Manchester bakery makes heartbreaking plea to Andy Burnham
Clementine Hall
A beloved Manchester bakery has issued an open letter to Andy Burnham ahead of the Budget begging him for help.
Barbakan Deli in Chorlton is basically an institution at this point.
The legendary bakery and delicatessen has been serving the community for 62 years, famed for its freshly-baked loaves of bread, its handmade sandwiches, and its pastries and cakes inspired by bakes from across Europe.
Posting on Instagram last night on Thursday 18 September, Frankie Dyer the director of Barbakan, issued an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Images: The Manc Group
It read: “Dear Mr Burnham, As an independent business owner in the hospitality sector, I am begging you to please read this.
“Really read it. And seriously consider what businesses like mine are telling you before the upcoming Budget.”
It continued: “In just the last two years, we have self-funded new bakery machinery, new catering kitchens, essential repairs and renovations and opened a second retail site, creating another six local jobs. We have won more than ten national awards for the quality of what we do.
“We have invested. We have grown. We have employed more people. We have worked harder than ever. In short, Prime Minister, we are doing everything you keep asking British businesses to do.
“And our bank balance is finished. That is the reality.”
The letter finished by Dyer inviting Andy Burnham to come visit the bakery and pleading for a ‘fighting chance’ to save the business: “We need action. We need meaningful reductions in the tax burden placed on employers.
“We need Employer National Insurance looked at urgently. We need a business-rates system which allows independent high-street businesses to survive. We need VAT reform for hospitality. We need Corporation Tax to reward businesses which reinvest, employ and grow.
“And we need proper grants and incentives that help established independent businesses invest and expand — not schemes with endless criteria which most ordinary businesses can never access. We need you to do something.
“And we need more than one token gesture in the Budget. A band-aid for a bullet wound. So I am asking you, Prime Minister, to come back to Manchester and see it for yourself. Pop an apron on and stand behind our counter.
Images: The Manc Group
“Come into our bakery in the middle of the night and meet the people making Manchester’s bread while most of the city is asleep. Look at our payroll, our energy bills, our rates, our supplier increases.
“Look at what leaves our bank account every single week simply for the privilege of keeping 50 people employed and our doors open. You said you wanted a government that understood the regions. You now have an opportunity to prove it.
“Independent businesses across this country are not asking for a handout. We are asking for a fighting chance. I sincerely hope your next Budget gives us one”.
Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
Daisy Jackson -
13th March 2026 
