The home of the now-famous 22” pizza pies and slices is opening a new restaurant at the corner site of Manchester’s newest city centre garden neighbourhood.
Serving up its much-loved and best selling Original Cheese, Do You ‘Roni Honey?, and Vegan Deluxe pizzas to hungry Mancunians, Nell’s at KAMPUS will feature a restaurant where you can make bookings for groups of all sizes, a bar, and also stand-alone ‘Slice Bar’, so people can pop in for a quick slice on-the-go all day and late into the evening.
Of course, while the best-sellers are on the menu, there’s also some new additions to the new restaurant site, including a range of snacks and signature cocktails to join the pizza line up.
Famous for the attention-to-detail in the dough, and not content with just repurposing the 48-hour dough used for their pizza, Nell’s founder Jonny Heyes went back to the mixer and developed a new focaccia-style dough, baked and topped with either Nell’s signature marinara, extra garlic and basil or with rocket, burrata and crushed pepper.
The home of the now-famous 22” pizza pies and slices is coming to KAMPUS / Credit: Instagram (@nellspizza)
Nell’s new location at KAMPUS will keep its title as one of the best beer slinger in the city with 17 lines pouring a selection of house beers, rotating specials from visiting breweries, and some local favourites, as well as a wine list that’s made up entirely of wines you just want to drink, in large glasses, all night.
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The Nell’s team has even developed a new cocktail menu for the KAMPUS opening too, with three signature cocktails – Nell’s Sbagliato, Nell’s Spritz, and Nell’s Sour.
And if you’re really looking to get the full Nell’s experience, then make sure to keep Sunday free in your diary, as Sundays will be all about bottomless slices, bottomless drinks, and DJs, as part of the launch of ‘Sunday Pizza Social’.
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Bookings for this can be made online or in house, with tables for large groups available.
Nell’s NY Pizza & Bar opens at KAMPUS on Friday 5 November / Credit: KAMPUS
Nell’s at KAMPUS takes the place of Cornerstone – the pub which owners Jonny and Charlotte Heyes had planned initially for this space – and to give a little more insight into the change of plan, Jonny said: “We decided to make a change from our original concept for KAMPUS – it wasn’t an easy decision, but we felt like so much had changed since we began this project at Kampus and Cornerstone started to feel like a ‘pre-COVID’ idea, which of course it was.
“KAMPUS had been intended as the first ever Nell’s, but in fact we’re already now operating at two sites.
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“So much of our focus over the last year has been on Nell’s, so we thought it didn’t make sense to have it playing second fiddle to Cornerstone.
“Now felt like the right time for Nell’s to step out of the shadows and have a place of her own.”
Over the last decade-plus, Grind has expanded right across London with 14 cafes, coffee shops and coffee trucks, as well as its own coffee roastery, but hasn’t yet ventured up north.
It’s also known for its at-home sustainable coffee products, including pods, is a growing presence in retail spaces, and is served on board British Airway flights, stocking Soho House, and collaborating with the likes of Baileys and BrewDog.
They’ll bring their extensive menu of speciality-grade coffee, seasonal food and cocktails to town, for everything from takeaway coffees to bottomless brunches.
Grind was founded back in 2011 when David Abrahamovitch turned his father’s old mobile phone store in Shoreditch into the first Grind cafe.
David says he has family connections to Manchester and has long been looking for the right site for Grind to expand here – then along came St Michael’s.
David Abrahamovitch, Grind founder and CEO said: “We’ve always said that if we were to do a big site outside of London, the first place we would go would be Manchester.
“My wife is Mancunian and her whole family live in Manchester, so I’ve spent a lot of time there over the years and I’ve always thought that a Grind would work well.
Grind is heading to Manchester for the first time. Credit: SuppliedGrind is heading to Manchester for the first time. Credit: Supplied
“We’ve looked at various locations over the years, but thanks to Gary (Neville) and the team at Relentless we think we’ve finally found the perfect home for Grind in St Michaels, in the heart of Manchester. We cannot wait to get open in the summer!”
Gary Neville, Director at Relentless Developments said: “The ambition for St Michael’s was to create a landmark that will become an economic driver for Manchester and bring together major names in a world-class, sustainable development.
“Attracting brands like Grind who have yet to set foot outside the capital is a massive achievement and testament to how hard we’ve been working to deliver our vision for the scheme and city as a whole.”
Grind will open this summer at St Michael’s in Manchester.
Irish Festival Village returns to Manchester with live music, fry-up pizzas and loads of Guinness
Daisy Jackson
A huge Irish Festival Village has returned to Manchester city centre today to kick off the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Over the coming 10 days, there’ll be live Irish music, street food, retail stalls and – of course – plenty of Guinness flowing.
The main event is now open at St Ann’s Square, where a gigantic marquee festooned in green, white and orange has been installed.
Inside here, the bar is being run by the O’Shea’s team, and the stage will host loads of live music and great craic.
Outside you’ll find Birchwood Pizza, who have got a menu of pizzas inspired by the Emerald Isle.
Pizzas include the What’s the Craic (a fry-up pizza with white pudding and Dubliner sausage) to The Black Stuff (black pudding, rosemary potato and streaky pudding).
The Irish Festival Village has opened as part of the wider Manchester Irish Festival celebrations across Greater Manchester.
The Irish Festival Village is back in ManchesterIrish pizzas at the Festival Village on St Ann’s SquareYou can shop Irish treats outside
There’ll also be a Saint Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday 16 March, which will weave its way from the Irish World Heritage Centre all the way onto Deansgate.
The parade will showcase and champion local groups and organisations such as GAA clubs, Irish dance classes, marching bands, and pipe bands, along with a strong representation of the 32 counties in Ireland.
And it handily winds up around King Street, just beside the Irish Festival Village.
The gathering spot will be open from Friday 7 March all the way through to St Patrick’s Day itself – find out more HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
20th October 2021 
