One of Manchester’s oldest and most iconic pubs has been listed for sale at a cool £1.4 million, leaving some wondering whether developers might swoop in and take one of our favourite city centre boozers away.
However, operators have confirmed they are not going anywhere – and even hinted at plans for a second site opening later this year.
The Grade II-listed Crown and Kettle pub in Ancoats has been a boozer since the early 19th century, but the building itself dates back to 1734 – having operated as a courthouse prior.
Famous for its historic ceiling, It was fully refurbished in 2020 after it cut its old brewery ties and came under the management of Alex Daw, also behind Sheffield arts venue Sidney & Matilda.
His company, Crown & Kettle Ltd, has occupied the building for about three years and has a long-term lease on the site with 20 years remaining.
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A spokesperson for the business confirmed to The Manc that the sale would not affect the pub, which continues to do a roaring trade from its Ancoats perch.
In fact, they revealed that the team has spent the past year and a half working behind the scenes to expand The Crown and Kettle – and will soon be submitting planning permission to extend the pub’s customer seating after purchasing the building next door.
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Image: The Crown and Kettle
Image: The Crown and Kettle
Edwards & Co Surveyors is marketing the sale of the business for the building’s owner, but the pub itself will continue to trade as normal.
Speaking to The Manc, a spokesperson for the pub revealed that operators were in the advanced phases of planning guest accommodation upstairs after purchasing the site next door.
They also revealed that Crown & Kettle Ltd has taken on a 20-year lease of a second historical pub site in Manchester city centre.
A Crown & Kettle spokesman said: “We have bought outright the building that’s immediately next door, and we’re going to expand the pub so the customer area will be larger.”
They added that the process had taken a year and a half due to the listed status of the building, but they were now ‘just about ready’ to put in planning permission and, all being well, start renovations.
If successful, the application would see the pub add two floors of guest rooms upstairs in order to future proof the business.
Electrik Bar in Chorlton is giving away 100 FREE frankfurters to celebrate their latest kitchen collab
Danny Jones
We all love a freebie, so we thought we’d spread the good word of the scran lords by letting you know that Electrik over in Chorlton is giving away 100 free frankfurters to celebrate their newest menu takeover.
The popular neighbourhood bar and kitchen on Wilbraham Road in the South Manchester suburb has had a couple of different foodie collaborations over the past couple of years, with local residents Paramogeddon and Four Side Vegan Pizza being the most recent, but now they’re doing hot dogs.
Welcoming their latest vendors Tisch Und Teller, Electrik will be giving away a total of 100 free frankfurters to the first century of people there this evening.
Bringing a taste of Berlin, Bavaria, Frankfurt and more (with a Manc twist, of course) to the popular pub for the Thursday launch party, all you need to do is order a drink upon arrival to get your hands on a free frankfurter sandwiched between a lovely fluffy roll.
Who doesn’t love a hot dog? Especially when they’re giving them away.
As for Tisch Und Teller (TuT), they’ve been serving up German-inspired favourites from the likes of The Shakespeare in Manchester city centre and Nip and Tipple in Whalley Range since September last year, including some very impressive brunches and Sunday roasts.
But the brand just keeps gaining more traction and now they’re setting up shop in Electrik, we’re sure the word will continue to spread – and fast.
Better still, as advertised on the promo poster, not only will TuT now be serving up their delicious food from Electrik every Thursday-Sunday for the foreseeable but the launch party will also live music by local legend and DJing veteran, Abigail Ward of Ghost Assembly.
Free food, pints and top tunes – what more could you ask for on a random weeknight?
The offer will be available from 6pm tonight and, once again, you have to be among the first 100 people to buy a pint to be eligible for a free frankfurter.
Manchester’s new Instagrammable coffee shop is giving away FREE drinks tomorrow
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s newest Instagrammable coffee shops is giving away free drinks tomorrow ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
With another long weekend right around the corner, and much of Greater Manchester and the UK fortunately looking set to bask in the springtime heat, popular coffee chain, Blank Street – which is one of Manchester city centre’s newest residents, with two sites in Piccadilly Gardens, and on the corner of King Street and Cross Street – has decided it wants to help the country “beat the 3pm slump”.
Ahead of the upcoming bank holiday weekend, the chain is inviting Mancs to “meet for matcha” tomorrow afternoon (Friday 3 May).
The exciting freebie offer is all said to be “inspired by data” that shows that almost half of office workers aren’t taking a break from their desks during the day, even despite research showing that this can boost productivity.
Hundreds of iced matcha lattes will be served up at Blank Street‘s Manchester branch on the corner of King Street and Cross Street between 3pm and 4pm tomorrow.
Manchester’s new Instagrammable coffee shop is giving away free drinks tomorrow / Credit: Blank Street
For anyone “ice cold pick-me-up ahead of the long weekend”, but keen not to tip their employers off, the coffee shop chain has created an online tool to allow workers to discreetly add a matcha moment to their diary.
The brand-new online tool will apparently help to “distract calendar snoopers” by creating a cleverly-named meeting and adding it automatically to Outlook, Google, or Apple calendars – with potential meeting titles that include plenty of corporate jargon to “provide the perfect alibi”.
So, all matcha fans need to do tomorrow afternoon is show the Blank Street team at their chosen branch a meeting in their calendar, and in return, they’ll receive a free small iced matcha latte of their choice from the chain’s delicious spring menu.
Blank Street’s popular matcha offering includes the Classic Matcha, the viral Blueberry Matcha, the silky-smooth White Chocolate Matcha, and the brand-new sumptuous Golden Matcha, so there’s something to “inspire every matcha lover to take a little time out”.
As matcha allows a slow release of caffeine, Blank Street says it’s the “perfect drink” to keep energy levels up throughout the afternoon when you’re stuck at your desk on a Friday.
Georgina Pellant -
19th July 2023 
