The team behind one of Ancoat’s coolest venues has been quietly working away on plans for a new venue on the other side of town for months. Now, at last, they’ve teased out some details – promising to open this summer and bring ‘Manchester’s biggest beer garden’ to Piccadilly East.
Called Diecast, the new 5,000 capacity space is set to be something of a behemoth. Within its giant new beer garden, its vast outside area will also house an open-air BBQ kitchen, ‘NeoPan’ pizzeria and festival-style ‘House of Daiquiri’ and ‘Rum Town’ bars.
Specialising in frozen daiquiris and pina coladas alongside heritage and new world rums, when the next heatwave hits this summer we know where we will want to be drinking.
Add to that plans for an in-house beer and kombucha brewery, night market, brewing co., warehouse restaurant, and a huge festival stage, and it really does sound like this is going to be a huge new opening for Manchester this summer.
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
Set to open in stages, according to bosses the outdoor area will launch first although no date has been set as of yet.
Emphasising the size of the project, Joel Wilkinson, DieCast Director and owner, said “We’re taking all our learnings from Ramona and The Firehouse, but this time it’s on an industrial scale.
“It’s more than a venue. It’s an area within itself. A new creative neighbourhood for the city.”
Due to the sheer scale of the site, the city centre location and striking industrial aesthetics, DieCast is already in use as the industrial backdrop for events, parties, shoots, and film locations.
Adelaide Winter, Creative Director at Diecast, added: “The Factory floor and Machine Works are already being used for creative events, filmmakers, musicians and event producers to use.
“This is the first part of establishing DieCast as a new creative resource for the city, but this summer we will finally open the garden to the public for the first time ”
Built around a 250,000-square-foot former foundry and warehouse. Untouched since its last update in 1983, it’s a paradigm of Manchester’s industrial aesthetic: with corrugated steel, roof-block walls, large roller shutters, and a concrete terrazzo stretching throughout.
Just a few minutes walk from Manchester Piccadilly train station, Diecast will be located between Store Street and Ducie Street. To keep up with more updates, make sure to follow Diecast on Instagram here.
Feature image – Supplied
Eats
Manchester Arndale is slashing prices on food and drink across the shopping centre
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Arndale’s Summer Scran Fest is back – and that means there are some absolute bargains to be had on food and drink right across the shopping centre.
Throughout the month of August, restaurants, cafes and kiosks within Manchester Arndale will be offering some serious offers and deals.
This ranges from 25% off to buy-one-get-one-free deals, plus free meals for kids and plenty more.
Venues taking part in the Summer Scran Fest include Archie’s, Subway, Barburrito, Pizza Hut, HOP Vietnamese, Michaels Coffee House and plenty more.
And the leisure destinations within Manchester Arndale are getting stuck in too – think free drinks, combos and more at venues including King Pins and Urban Playground.
There are plenty of Manchester-born businesses getting involved and offering bargains to us all, like Archie’s giving out free soft serve when you spend £10, Barburrito offering a £10 meal deal (burrito, tortilla chips and a soft drink), and Lazy Sundae giving a free scoop of ice cream with any large drink purchase.
Big brand deals include a £5 meal deal at McDonald’s (4 Chicken McNuggets, Cheese burger or Mayo chicken; fries; and medium cold drink), and 25% off at Pizza Hut.
There’s 20% off at Sides in the Manchester Arndale Summer Scran FestLazy Sundae will do a free ice cream with a large drink purchase
Then there are newcomers to Manchester Arndale taking part in the Summer Scran Fest.
HOP, a new Vietnamese street food venue on Market Street, is doing 25% off, while Michaels Coffee House will knock 15% off their seasonal favourites like an Iced Maple Oat Matcha or an Iced Rose Coconut Matcha.
There’s also a 20% discount at Sides, the chicken shop backed by YouTube sensations Sidemen.
And as for leisure destinations – Urban Playground is doing 18 Holes of putters tech-infused mini golf, plus any three small plates from The Butcher menu for £28.20.
Kind Pins has 20% off food and drink, and Immersive Gamebox will do 20% off plus a free drink when you book a 60 or 30 minute gaming session.
Pick up a voucher booklet in the centre or download your offers from the Manchester Arndale website from 1 August.
Manchester dessert and sandwich stars Gooey are set to open another city centre site
Danny Jones
0161’s world-famous dessert stars, Gooey, are set to open another city centre site – their third in Greater Manchester and soon-to-be fifth overall.
Known for their incredible cookies, doughnuts, brunch, legendary French toast and plenty more, Gooey made their first foray out of their hometown with a Liverpool location last year, and are now set to consolidate their Manc base even further.
Set to open in a prime piece of real estate, the latest Manchester Gooey store will be opening in a sizeable empty unit over on Circle Square, right next to the Asda Express and in the heart of the student living and leisure complex.
Benefitting from being easily seen from along the bustling Oxford Road Corridor, you can expect this place to be packed to the rafters from the off on day one.
The signs are already in the window.That unreal French toast dripping in syrup.Credit: The Manc Eats
There are few details on what the new arrival might have in-store beyond all the brand favourites at this early stage, but each Gooey store shop does have its own charm.
From their original bakery and cafe over in the Northern Quarter, to the three kiosks in Ducie Street Warehouse, The Trafford Centre Selfridges and over on Merseyside’s iconic Bold Street, they all offer something a little different.
As for any hints at the launch plans, fans are yet to be given an official opening date, but you best believe you’ll be the first to know the second we do.
In case you’ve never tried or even come across the indulgent and fast-growing independent business before, another popular part of their menu is the bits between bread.
Touching on the upcoming addition, Charlotte Wild, Head of Retail & Leisure at Bruntwood SciTech – the team behind Circle Square’s ever-expanding offerings – said: “Gooey is an incredible local brand who are continuing to grow, evolve and innovate, with ever more exciting desserts.
“They will make a fantastic addition to the Circle Square community, and we look forward to seeing the impact they make in the coming months.”
In case you wonder how much we love this place and just how excited you should be about another one landing here in the city centre, sometimes we just put together random appreciation posts for that one, aforementioned butty alone.
Local foodies will also be buzzing to hear that they’re not the only calorific cult favourites that are bringing more to our mouths in 2025.
First, it was Brewski, followed by American Pies; then it was Foldies, and now the beloved culinary brand is launching yet another new concept here in Manchester.
Georgina Pellant -
8th March 2023 
