Get ready, diners and drinkers, because another exciting food hall is coming to Manchester city centre very soon.
Greater Manchester is well and truly in its food hall era, it seems, with the likes of Mackie Mayor, Alty Market, Society, Kargo, Stockport’s Produce Hall, The Egyptian Rooms in Oldham, New Century Hall and many more that we could reel off.
We’re not complaining by the way: being able to go to a place where you can sample various different cuisines and pretty much any drink of choice is ideal for keeping things interesting – plus, it always helped appease big groups where not everyone wants to eat the same thing.
With that in mind, prepare to welcome Manchester’s latest food hall, which is being developed by a man who knows all about the industry alongside Vita Group, whose local presence continues to grow.
Being spearheaded by Jake Atkinson, the former operations manager of the widely popular Mackie Mayor, Altrincham Market and Macclesfield’s Picturedrome – all of which serve as the blueprint for a successful food hall – his new venture will be called House of Social.
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Set to host five kitchens tucked between statement arched windows and spread across two levels, Jake and co. have spent a year building a brand new collective of operators, with some much-loved regional food and drink brands bringing new ideas to the table.
The House of Social food hall will open just a few yards away from fellow cultural hotspot HOME Theatre on First Street, itself an ever-flourishing Manchester district, not to mention just a few minutes walk from both Oxford Road and Deansgate-Castlefield stations.
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Hoping to serve as both a prime destination for a great night out, somewhere to grab breakfast on the go, enjoy a quick bite on your dinner or waste hours chatting rubbish with your friends over a few drinks, House of Social aims to be a place for all seasons and occasions.
You can get a close look at the early CGI mock-ups of how it’s going to look here:
Credit: CGIs (supplied via Vita Group)
As mentioned, the project is in collaboration with Vita, who are developing another brand new university accommodation block within which the food hall will sit, meaning that students will also be able to dive into Manchester’s diverse food and drink scene of the city quite literally on their doorstep.
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The five independent kitchens at House of Social will be revealed in the upcoming months. Locals and visitors alike can expect a variety of vendors serving pizza to dumplings, all from growing businesses excited to get stuck even further into Manchester’s thriving hospitality scene.
Atkinson said of plans: “It’s such an untapped location, we’ve got this beautiful building with loads of natural light from soaring arched windows and also some gorgeous interior details with that curving staircase – it’s going to have so much character.
“We’ve tried to match that with the traders we’re working with – we’ve got some big names and some big personalities coming along – they’re creating menus which work in a food hall setting but with so much more attention to detail than anything I’ve seen before in this space.”
Credit: Supplied
Jake went on to add: “The offerings will really complement each other but I also think the traders are going to gel well too. I just can’t wait to get started.”
Set to open Summer 2025, House of Social really can’t come soon enough; we’re all dreaming of sun-soaked days with a belly full of scran and booze. Bliss.
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Speaking of food halls, another city centre favourite of ours is doing something very fun for us Mancs this Valentine’s Day…
Viral Manchester bakery The Flat Baker to open its very first cafe
Daisy Jackson
Hugely popular Manchester bakery The Flat Baker has announced plans to open its very first cafe.
The Brazilian-French bakery has become legendary in the city for its flaky croissants and pistachio-based treats.
For the last few years, it’s been operating out of a hatch in Ancoats, with queues often snaking down Radium Street from early in the morning on weekends.
And now The Flat Baker has announced an exciting next chapter in their journey in Manchester – their very first bakery and cafe.
The team will be taking over a unit on the same street, which will have space to house their baking operations as well as a sitting area to serve brunch and hot food.
They’ve announced that they’ll be retaining their much-loved hatch but expanding to a second site in the heart of Ancoats.
They hope this will drastically reduce any waiting and queue times and allow even more people to sample these incredible bakes.
In a statement shared on Instagram, they wrote: “We have been keeping a secret from you. This corner of Ancoats will never be the same, because it will be our new bakery, cafe and brunch!
“We have been dreaming of it for years – we almost closed a deal with another two locations in the past few years, but it didn’t work out.
“We were about to leave the plan of the new shop aside, we were very frustrated of how things were not working the way we planned it to…
“But everything happens for a reason! Who knew the building next door was just waiting for us…
“The two-storey building has just the right space for our baking operations, plus a sitting area and a space to serve brunch and hot food.
“Don’t worry, we won’t let our tiny hatch go, we will keep both locations. This will allow us a faster service, avoid the waiting times and long queues.
“For now we just want to share this great achievement. Growing a small business when you see many other places shutting is such a challenge. But if you never stop dreaming and work hard for it, the sky is the limit! We can’t wait for the next chapter to come. Matt and Deb x”
The Flat Baker Cafe is expected to open in Ancoats this summer.
Popeyes is giving away 10,000 FREE hash browns in Manchester
Thomas Melia
Louisiana fried chicken chain Popeyes is set to giveaway 10,000 free hash browns across its Manchester locations.
Manchester may be known for rain, but this time, it’s not those little murky raindrops that will be falling into our hands, instead it’s the holy grail of the carb world – hash browns.
Once the madness of Parklife this weekend has been and gone, I don’t think anyone could’ve come up with a better solution for a two-day, dance-ridden, drink-fuelled weekender, than a lorry load of free Popeyes cajun hash browns.
Popeyes is known for serving up lots of tasty treats, including a range of signature sauces like ‘Bold BBQ’, ‘Garlic Parm’, and ‘Buffalo’.
Popeyes is giving away 10,000 FREE hash browns in Manchester / Credit: The Manc Group
Alongside putting Louisiana on the map thanks to its delicious chicken varieties, Popeyes is also known for its spice-infused sides, which are famously covered in cajun seasoning, and the hash brown is one of the best of them.
Popeyes’ cajun hash browns are taking centre stage across Parklife weekend, as from Saturday 14 June through to Monday 16 June, 10,000 of these glorious golden treats will be given away for free as Manchester celebrates its biggest festival.
“We know Parklife is one of the biggest weekends in the Manchester calendar,” commented Dave Hoskins, who is the Head of Food at Popeyes UK, “and being just down the road from the action, we wanted to help festivalgoers start their day right”.
Whether their cajun hash browns are your go-to breakfast feast, or you’re after your first taste of the Popeyes menu, then make to visit any of the two Manchester Popeyes sites, download thee app, and get there before 10am.
Anyone after sampling these breakfast breadwinners can do so by downloading Popeyes official app and registering for an account by 11:59pm on Friday 13 June 2025 HERE.
Danny Jones -
5th February 2025 
