Eats

Popular sandwich and burger bar forced to close after rent suddenly DOUBLES

'The numbers just don't add up'

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 15th December 2022

A popular local business, famed for its huge sandwiches and for serving some of the best burgers in Manchester, has been forced to close after its rent rocketed in price.

Super Happy has been based at the counter at Ducie Street Warehouse since September, brought to life by the team behind Batard.

Since they’ve been there, they’ve also branched out into the smashed burger world, launching Now That’s A Burger from the same site.

But now Super Happy has announced that it has just a few days of trading left after its rent ‘essentially doubled’.

The team said they’ve been trying to ‘find a way (any way) to make it work’ but the ‘numbers just don’t add up’.

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They’ll now close before Christmas and will be taking a break while they try and find a new home for the business.

Super Happy and Now That’s A Burger in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Super Happy and Now That’s A Burger in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Super Happy and Now That’s A Burger in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

They wrote in an Instagram post titled ‘Bye for now’: “Bit of naff news but this week will be our last for a while. Pretty gutted tbh.

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“Last week we were informed by our landlord that our rent will essentially be doubling starting on the 31st of this month. We’ve tried to find a way (any way) to make it work here but it just doesn’t seem that’s possible right now.

“The numbers just don’t add up unfortunately. On such short notice, after a rebrand and only just settling in at a new unit we just aren’t able to adjust and continue trading going in to January. Soooo we are wrapping up here for Xmas a bit prematurely.

“We’ve been lucky to build a truly incredible and talented team. So we don’t plan on stopping for good (but who knows) hopefully just taking a little break whilst we sort out a space we can call home.

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“So for this week come say hello/goodbye. Grab a sandwich, a bake or a burger and see us off in style.”

Super Happy bake all their bread daily, from house-made hoagie rolls to potato brioche buns, as well as making the own pickles, burger ‘super sauce’ and buttermilk-fried chicken.

Their sweet bakes are also the stuff of legend, including a fudgy chocolate cake and choux pastry crullers.

Since they shared the news, Super Happy has been bombarded with comments from fellow business-owners and customers.

One person wrote: “Noooo. That’s my lunch breaks f*cked, will miss the Chopped Cheese! Hope you guys come back stronger than ever x”

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Another said: “So sad to hear this mate, this economy is absolutely f*cked 🙁 we’ll be sure to come down this week to say hi.”

Someone else commented: “Kin ellll! That’s so rubbish but onwards and upwards. Rest up and hopefully you find another venue v soon!x”

Super Happy has now posted an update, teasing a potential new home for 2023.

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They wrote: “ONLY FOUR DAYS LEFT TO GRAB A FRESHLY BAKED HOAGIE AND SOME TOP FILLINGS FROM US.

“We have had such an amazing response to our other post so we think there’s a high chance we’ll be back in the new year, but we can’t guarantee when. May even have a found a permanent spot for us and @nowthatsaburger – but we might need your help to make it happen…

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“In the meantime, come enjoy this menu with us and say an early farewell to 2022. It’s been a trip.”

The Manc has approached Ducie Street Warehouse for comment.

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

I tried the Manchester roast with a dedicated cauliflower cheese menu named the ‘UK’s best’

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Right, let’s talk cauliflower cheese for a moment. A non-negotiable on a roast dinner, I like mine steaming hot and encased in cheesy bechamel, slightly charred on top and oozing in the middle.

Truth be told, I’m more attached to cauliflower cheese than Yorkshire puddings (blasphemy up north, I know). Miss a Yorkshire off my roast and – as long as I’ve not ordered beef – we’ll be absolutely fine. But forget the cauliflower cheese? Well, I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive you.

Given my proclivity for the stuff, when Ducie Street Warehouse first launched its menu dedicated to cauliflower cheese my interest was piqued, to say the least.

Then at the start of this year, its Sunday roast offering was named the best in the UK. So, in the interests of roast-loving Mancs everywhere, I dutifully trotted down to give it a go. The things I have to do in the name of journalism, honestly.

Macaroni cauliflower cheese at Ducie Street Warehouse. / Image: The Manc Eats
Rosemary roasted leg of lamb roast with the biggest Yorkshire pudding I’ve ever seen at Ducie Street Warehouse. / Image: The Manc Eats

Mentally prepared to eat my body weight in cheese, I’d already familiarised myself with the menu. Ok, technically two menus. Ducie Street Warehouse has a separate one just for its cauliflower cheeses: with eight different styles to choose from.

We’re talking cauliflower cheese with vintage cheddar, freshly shaved black truffle, bacon frazzles, garlic and herb crumble, four kinds of cheese, blue cheese, macaroni, plus a cheezy option for the vegans.

According to the team, it’s ‘the ultimate Sunday side that deserves a place of its own.’ I couldn’t agree more.

As for the rest, its separate ‘Sunday with Sides’ menu also seemingly has it all. Dry-aged local shorthorn beef sirloin, W.H. Frost premium chicken breast, rosemary roasted leg of lamb and a weekly-changing vegan roast ‘with all the trimmings’.

Add to that its promising-sounding ‘Slice Of ‘SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE’ – a carvery-style mixed-meat plate priced at £27.50 – and it does seem like they’ve really thought of it all.

Read more: A Manchester restaurant is doing bottomless pancakes for Pancake Day

Cauliflower cheese topped with Frazzles and bacon bits at Ducie Street Warehouse. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cauliflower cheese topped with freshly grated black truffle at Ducie Street Warehouse. / Image: The Manc Eats

I opt for a pink leg of lamb, whilst my cheese-eating partner in crime goes for the beef (which also comes out beautifully pink). Both are served with crispy roasties on a mountain of seasonal veg, topped with the biggest singular Yorkshire puddings I think I’ve ever seen.

Gravy is generous, but there’s an extra jug plopped onto our table too – just in case. Being a gravy glutton, I pile it on. It comes out a bit thick for my liking, but still tastes delicious nonetheless.

As for the cauliflower cheese? It’s worth every bit of hype it gets. We try the umami-rich black truffle, blue cheese, macaroni and Frazzles options, filling our tiny table for two with an absolute mountain of cauliflower.

As ever, my eyes are bigger than my belly, but I give it a good go: packing up the rest to take home and eat in bed later.

Read more: This Manchester restaurant is serving a Sunday roast with bottomless drinks

I won’t beat around the bush. This is a deceptively BIG roast. Granted, we did order four portions of cauliflower cheese on the side, but still. Some roasts look good but lack substance. Not this one. This is the roast that keeps on giving.

Further add-ons include Tuscan pork stuffing, honey-roasted heirloom rainbow carrots, maple roasted parsnips, lemon and garlic broccoli gratin, macaroni cheese, plus extra Yorkshire puddings and gravy, not that we can manage it.

I’d definitely go back with a group, though, and see if we can get through it all. I honestly can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Eats

Japanese-Brazilian hybrid, SakkuSamba, is putting on a special Valentine’s menu

Danny Jones Danny Jones SakkuSamba Valentine's Day

For anyone who hasn’t made it down to SakkuSamba, not only are you missing out but you might have also just found the perfect place to take your special someone this Valentine’s Day.

If you haven’t heard of this unique Spinningields restaurant before, SakkuSamba is the Japanese-Brazilian hybrid where surf and turf meet in an intimate and stylish setting.

From the moment you walk in to see the pink-hued lighting and floral surroundings, you immediately feel like you’ve been transported to a different world. And what better way to be greeted into that world than with a rose and a glass of fizz? Say no more.

That’s right, as part of their Valentine‘s offer, the menu not only kicks off with you being presented with a rose by the ever-welcoming staff, which you can then hand to your partner as if you planned the whole thing especially for them (we won’t say a word), but you also get a glass of prosecco on arrival too.

Credit: The Manc Group

SakkuSamba’s Valentine’s offering runs from 13-15 February and promises their unlimited dining experience as well as a special sharing dessert. You can book a lunchtime meal for £42.50 or secure yourself an incredible dinner for £55.50.

In case you’re wondering what makes it ‘unlimited’: part of what makes their dining experience so unique is how expansive their menu is, bridging across two beloved but equally varied cuisines.

Lucky for you, you’ll be able to order pretty much everything they have on it through a simple tablet on your own table, meaning you can spend even more time just the two of you on your special night.

As for the limited edition Valentine’s dessert, SakkuSamba’s Manchester restaurant will be creating its very own special sharing dessert and that’s all we’re allowed to tell you about it — all we know is that it’ll undoubtedly be delicious.

Credit: “

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It isn’t often you find a place that serves up both high-end sushi and proper steak cooked in keeping with Brazilian tradition, among numerous other big and varied flavours.

Better still, they have a seriously appetising drinks menu for you to get stuck into. After all, it’s Valentine’s, it’d be rude not to treat yourselves to a tipple.

You can book you and your significant other in for a special Valentine’s menu and all-round wonderful dining experience HERE.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — The Manc Group

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