Oi Dumplings, a firm favourite independent business at the Manchester Christmas Markets, has been left devastated after a fire destroyed their new restaurant.
The beloved Vietnamese business only opened its first proper restaurant of its own in July of this year, a beautiful, terracotta-painted neighbourhood spot in the picturesque village of Marsden.
Prior to that, they had been trading from a tiny cabin with no indoor seating and doing the rounds of street food events, including the Manchester Christmas Markets.
But earlier this week, Oi Dumplings’ stunning little restaurant totally ‘perished’ in a freak fire, triggering a huge outpouring of grief and support from the local community and friends of the business (us included).
The fire was started in their brand-new, switched-off tumble dryer and has devastated the space they so carefully designed and built.
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Oi Dumplings is now going through the lengthy process of insurance before they can begin to rebuild – but with the Manchester Christmas Markets barely two weeks away, they’ve issued a plea for help.
Founders Mollie Power and Maisie Davies now desperately need somewhere to prep for the markets, a key income stream for any small independent.
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The beautiful Oi Dumplings restaurant in Marsden, opened in July, has been devastated by a fire. Credit: Instagram
They’re seeking a temporary space where they can do the pain-staking work of making their own handmade dumplings.
Oi Dumplings said ‘we’re not giving up’, adding: “The markets played a massive part in funding our restaurant, and we hope that it will play its future role in rebuilding our restaurant.”
They also quipped: “In times of darkness we are looking for the light and luckily enough for us, there’s a great big massive hole in the roof of the building.
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“So there we go, we will move and do the only thing we can right now. Steam some award winning dumplings for the Manchester Christmas Markets.”
Their full statement is below and if you can help them get back on their feet, you can message them on Instagram HERE.
Oi Dumplings’ statement after fire
Food at Oi Dumplings in Marsden. Credit: The Manc Group
I remember when we started ‘Oi’ with nothing. We were both teaching online and doing random delivery jobs for Amazon during the pandemic. We spent £120 on ingredients and packaging. We used the ice packs and delivery bags that we had from Amazon to deliver our little dumplings around Yorkshire and Manchester. We were so worried we wouldn’t get that money back. When we posted about our new venture online, embarrassment and fear crept in. I remember crying in bed thinking ‘What have we done? No one is going to buy these dumplings from a random person online.’ How wrong we were. I guess you don’t know till you try.
Fast forward four years, a series of fortunate events, countless hours and hard work. We moved from Gazebo, to the Cabin, to Manchester Christmas Markets.
After four years of working our asses off, we found ourselves in a position where we could buy our first business and renovate a space. It was so amazing to see our vision come alive and even better that we would be INSIDE. How lucky. How blessed. How glorious. But as we all know, life is a series of tests. And my god it is testing us. Riding high in April, shot down in May.
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We then faced problem after problem. Planning, licensing, court hearings. And now the pièce de résistance. A fire – caused by spontaneous combustion in the tumble dryer. Guys, never trust your dryer, ours was brand new and turned off.
And so we are left with a perished establishment. What isn’t burnt, is damaged by smoke and water. It was lucky that the fire was caught when it was. To the team of brave professionals that put the fire out, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Over the past few days we have been inundated with messages from our customers, friends and family. We have taken the time to read every single one. Words of encouragement and offers to lend a helping hand in any way possible. How beautiful. The community we surround ourselves with is truly and utterly astonishing. So what can we do now?
The only thing we can focus on now is the courage to move forward whilst our premises are in the hands of our insurers. We have the Manchester Christmas Markets around the corner and we are in urgent need of a temporary space to prep in, and we need your help to find that space. The team at Manchester Markets have kindly delayed our final payment to give us room to replace the equipment that perished in the fire. The markets played a massive part in funding our restaurant, and we hope that it will play its future role in rebuilding our restaurant. We’re not giving up. In times of darkness we are looking for the light and luckily enough for us, there’s a great big massive hole in the roof of the building. So there we go, we will move and do the only thing we can right now. Steam some award winning dumplings for the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Please, please, please share this post and help us find our temporary home?!
A month-long, mile-long, margarita bar crawl is returning to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
An award-winning bar crawl that’s all about celebrating margaritas is returning to Manchester this month.
El Tequileño’s Margarita Mile will see venues right across the city centre creating bespoke tequila cocktails, alongside events and loads more.
The mile-long, month-long celebration will kick off on 16 February, with 11 brilliant local venues taking part this year.
Those involved will include Mexican restaurant favourite Madre (and its sister site, Mexican pool hall Salon Madre), margarita bar Ramona, and cosy cocktail dens like The Daisy.
Also joining in this year is the city’s newest rooftop destination, Chotto Matte, which is home to Claude’s Skyview Bar with staggering views over Albert Square to the Manchester Town Hall.
It’s all been handily laid out into a mile(ish)-long bar crawl that will showcase the best in tequila and some of the best watering holes in the city.
Billed as the ‘ultimate margarita experience’, you can spend the next month visiting participating venues to sample bespoke menus, with the main celebrations taking place during Mile Week from 16 to 22 February – ahead of National Margarita Day on 22 February.
The Margarita Mile launched in Manchester in 2023 and was initially a week-long celebration, designed to celebrate quality tequila, champion bartender creativity, and tempt people back out into bars during the quietest time of the year for hospitality.
Now in its fourth year, it’s grown to an award-winning event (it was named The Spirits Business Best Event of the Year 2025), spanning a full month.
Maps of this year’s Margarita Mile across Manchester are available online HERE, as well as at all participating venues, with no tickets required.
Steffin Oghene, VP Business Development for El Tequileño, says: “Each year, the Margarita Mile grows, and we’re incredibly proud that it is now an award-winning campaign.
“Our goal has always been to share a love of craft tequila while connecting Brits with the hospitality trade, especially in such challenging times.
“With some of the best bars and bartenders in the world, it’s more important than ever to inspire the UK public to get out, enjoy the Mile, and raise a margarita.”
All the venues on the El Tequileño Margarita Mile in Manchester
UK pub chain announces bottomless Guinness for the 2026 Six Nations
Danny Jones
As we all know, Guinness and the Six Nations go hand in hand, so pubs not only showing all of this year’s games, but also serving bottomless pints of the good stuff here in Greater Manchester, is an absolute match made in heaven.
With the 2026 Six Nations tournament kicking off this Thursday, 5 February – a France vs Ireland opener in Paris – Manc rugby fans are already nailing down their go-to spots to watch the fixtures.
However, we can’t think of many other places offering bottomless black gold in town, let alone anywhere else in and around Manchester.
So, if you were still unsure of where to watch this year’s tournament, the Social Pub and Kitchen group might have just made the decision for you…
That’s right, this widespread British chain is looking to keep the pints flowing throughout the duration of this year’s competition, thanks to a twist on their standard bottomless brunch format.
Running for every single televised meeting between the much-loved half dozen rugby union teams, all 103 of their locations across the country will be providing this impressive offer on pints.
Here in central Manchester, that includes Tank and Paddle in the Printworks, Crafty Pig on the edge of the Northern Quarter, The Beech Inn in Chorlton, and The Director’s Box right in the heart of the city – and dangerously close to The Manc office…
As well as these nearby venues, there are obviously plenty more around the North West for those slightly further afield, including the likes of Cheshire and Derbyshire.
With a new food menu too, which features several honey-based dishes like the sweet sriracha pizza, chipotle loaded fries, as well as honey chipotle chicken wings, the matchday scran is on point.
So too are the drinks, clearly, and if any of your party wants to stray away from the bottomless Guinness, there are series of special Six Nations-themed cocktails, such as the ‘Midnight in Dublin’, a ‘Peach on the Pitch’ margarita, Baby Velvet, and the bold ‘G-Bomb’.
Yes, we suspect it is as boozy as it sounds.
Running throughout February and March whilst the games are on, we imagine plenty of people will be making at least one Social Pub and Kitchen site their chosen destination for watching all the action.
Even if you happen to be reading this outside of Greater Manchester, you can find your nearest Social Pub and Kitchen and book your table right HERE.
And if you’d still like some other alternatives here in the city centre, you can do no wrong with our helpful little round-up.
Daisy Jackson -
24th October 2024 
