The first food line-up for the kitchens at New Century has been announced, featuring a butty shop from one of Manchester’s most prestigious chefs.
The legendary music venue New Century Hall has been unused for the best part of a decade, but is set to reopen this summer under a (slightly) new name as an events, music, and food and drink destination.
The heart of the development will be the 10,000 sq ft kitchens, with six independent operators serving up food to around 300 diners.
Adam Reid, the chef behind The French inside The Midland hotel (often lauded as one of the regions’ best restaurants), will open a brand-new concept that’s a bit of a departure from his usual fare.
The new-look New Century Hall. Credit: Supplied
Two-time Great British Menu winner Reid will launch The Butty Shop, which he hopes will bring the classic British butty back to life.
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He’ll use classic northern flavours inspired by childhood visits to the bakery, with sides including pickled eggs and potato salad.
Also joining the food line-up at New Century is Banh Vi, a favourite from Altrincham Market.
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Adam Reid, of The French, will be opening a butty shop at New Century
Banh Vi are also opening
They’ll be bringing their plant-based Vietnamese and Thai dishes to the venue, including banh mi baguettes, steaming bowls of Pho, and fresh summer rolls.
2021 British Street Food Awards ‘People’s Choice’ winners, BaoBros23, are also joining New Century – their first foray into Manchester.
Father-and-son duo Daniel and Iain Woodhead will bring Asian-inspired cuisine with a touch of nostalgia, like bao, loaded fries and desserts, fresh from their success as a pop-up at Riverhead Brewery Tap in Marsden.
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BaoBros23 are joining the food offering at New Century. Credit: Supplied
There’ll also be coffee and grab ‘n’ go concepts from New Century, plus local beers, wines, cocktails, teas, juices and smoothies.
The redevelopment of the Grade II listed building is already underway, and will soon be spilling outside onto Sadler’s Yard for al fresco dining and events.
Across the three-floor social hub, there’ll be an 800+ capacity live music venue, a large food hall, and a creative college.
The venue is located between Victoria Station and Shudehill, right at the heart of one of central Manchester’s best connected areas, the 20 acre NOMA neighbourhood.
adidas and JD are giving away FREE Nell’s pizza with a Manchester Marathon medal
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Marathon finishers will be able to reward themselves with free Nell’s pizza this weekend, thanks to a collaboration with adidas and JD.
The sportswear giants will be teaming up with one of the city’s top pizza spots to hand out the ultimate post-race reward at Kampus this Sunday.
It’s all to celebrate the launch of the new adidas EVO SL ATRs, a shoe that’s built with running miles in mind.
And there’ll be a chance to grab an exclusive t-shirt too, and have your official marathon finish time branded on-site.
adidas and JD are giving away FREE Nell’s pizza with a Manchester Marathon medal / Credit: Supplied
As well as a free slice of Nell’s famous New York-style pizza and a drink, Manchester Marathon finishers will be able to enter into a range of giveaways, with prizes including the EVO SL ART, adidas merch, and range of other prizes.
And you’ll be recovering with a slice in hand and a live DJ keeping the post-race energy high
All you need to do is show your Manchester Marathon medal at Nell’s at Kampus, to grab your free slice, and check out adidas and JD’s latest drop.
Friends and family are encouraged to join too – after all, all runners know a marathon isn’t possible without that support crew.
There are also a bunch of giveaways and more to look forward to / Credit: Supplied
Pizza slices will be handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis, so make sure your sprint to Nell’s is your fastest yet.
Thankfully, the adidas EVO SL’s are built for speed…
adidas x JD x Nell’s – Manchester Marathon event
Taking place on Sunday 19 April, from 12pm to 8pm
Free pizza slice and a drink when you show your Manchester Marathon medal (while stocks last)
Exclusive merch and great prize giveaways from adidas and JD
Plus photo moments, live DJs, and more
Find it at The Bungalow, Kampus, M1 3GL (next to Nell’s)
Sacha Lord set to back local hospitality again with money behind the bar of one Greater Manchester pub
Danny Jones
Local figure Sacha Lord is once again looking to help support Greater Manchester’s food and drink scene once again this spring by putting a total of £2.5k behind the bar of one lucky pub.
Well, let’s be honest, we’re about to be the real lucky ones.
It’s far from the first time that the Night Time Economy Advisor has done this, having previously put sizeable sums towards shared tabs on a few ocassions over the last few years.
Lining up his next handout for this coming early May bank holiday (perfect timing), it’s going to be a super and potentially very sloppy Sunday…
Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester.
Bank Holiday Sunday 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.
Sharing the video above online earlier this week, the 54-year-old simply wrote, “Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester. Bank Holiday Sunday, 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.”
The message is as straightforward as ever: “Support your local pub.”
Now obviously, the fact that people can reply with their go-to boozers and help influence the decision is one thing – something that has certainly always created an attraction each time he’s done this – but it’s also just a good way of marketing these watering holes to begin with.
Whether or not someone’s favourite public house tucked away in one of the 10 boroughs, or their bar of choice here in Manchester city centre, ends up being selected or not, it’s obviously great publicity having their names plastered on a notable social media account.
This is especially so when you see how much the post itself ends up being reshared and the overall exposure Lord ultimately lends them via creating such a big crowd discussion.
Here’s hoping we get proper beer garden weather over that long weekend.
It’s also worth noting that the further support stunts like this have helped garner support for other regional businesses – in particular, indies that are battling the cost of living crisis and so many other challenges within the sector – has proved crucial for some places to stay open to begin with.
A good example is the Thirsty Korean, who teamed up with the Altrincham-born entrepreneur to cover hundreds of bills back in 2023, and has now been able to expand into a larger venue down the road from their original Chorlton location.
The obstacles facing the hospitality industry remain varied and numerous, but gestures like this can go a long way to helping prop up those who need it.
Daisy Jackson -
14th July 2022 
