Manchester beer masters Seven Brothers have quietly announced that their Middlewood Locks venue has closed its doors.
The local brewery has built an impressive empire across Greater Manchester over the past decade, with two other Northern sites in Liverpool and Halifax to boot, not to mention a well-established online store as well as being stocked in supermarkets up and down the country.
However, one of their smaller sites over in Salford – where the brand was born back in 2014 – has sadly had to call it a day after more than five years.
Residents at the Middlewood Locks apartment complex, which served as its primary customer base, first noticed that the venue was closed last Wednesday (22 January) and now Seven Brothers have confirmed as much in a brief statement on their website.
Although no news has been shared on social media, a quick search for the Middlewood bar on their Locations page reveals a short update.
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“It is with a heavy heart that we have had to take the decision to close our Middlewood Locks beerhouse. Apologies for any inconvenience”, the statement reads.
Commenting under their most recent Instagram post, one punter wrote, “Just walked by there’s a van and staff taking furniture apart inside”, while another added: “Really gutted about this! Nice staff, decent food and nice vibe.”
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Offering no explanation as yet as to the reason behind the closure, we can only assume the business is facing many of the same pressures other UK independents are, especially in the hospitality sector.
We’d love to just all of these closures on something in the air and hope it goes away soon before claiming any more hospitality casualties, but the reality is that news like this is simply the result of the ongoing economic pressures facing everyone.
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Not only is the cost of living crisis hitting everyone at home and preventing them from being able to go out and enjoy a night at the pub like so many regulars did at Seven Brothers, but with business rates and energy bills continue to climb for local companies like this, it’s becoming harder and harder to stay afloat.
We’re truly gutted for everyone on the receiving end of these unfortunate circumstances and pray that everyone gets back on their feet as soon as possible.
We got some real gems in 2024 and we’d rather not see that list get longer this year.
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.
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 -
28th January 2025 
