You can’t move for vegan cafes in Northern Quarter nowadays. They’re ten a penny.
But twenty years ago, anyone embracing an animal-free diet would be hard-pushed to find a meal that wasn’t a sad-looking salad haphazardly thrown together by an exasperated chef.
Back in the nineties, even half-decent vegan food was in desperately short supply across Manchester.
But there was one exception: A tranquil little snack bar tucked away off the beaten track down Turner Street.
When ‘Earth’ officially opened as part of the Manchester Buddhist Centre in 1997, it was one of the first cafes of its kind.
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Whilst other local eateries were cocooned in the waft of fried meats and cigarette smoke, Earth was preoccupied with showcasing how delicious – and beneficial – fruit and veg-based lunches could actually be.
Half a dozen years before doctors were officially rattling off advice about getting your ‘Five Fruit & Veg A Day’, Earth was providing its patrons with next-level nutrition with top-notch taste.
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There’s no denying that this cosy NQ bistro was something of a trailblazer in healthy eating hospitality. And that’s what makes its demise even more dismaying.
Despite the stature, recognition and popularity Earth acquired over the subsequent two decades, its owners announced last week that its doors would never open again.
Earth Cafe is gone for good.
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Speaking to The Manc, Vidyapala, Communications Manager at the Buddhist Centre, said it was a ‘financial decision.’
“Patrica and her son have been running the cafe for the last decade; but they just didn’t think it was feasible to reopen again given the reduction in people coming in,” he revealed.
“It was once a place where you could get great vegan food you couldn’t get elsewhere.
“But vegetarian and vegan cafes have become more ubiquitous now; the competition is so much higher. I suspect that has come into the mix and played a role in the closure.”
Losing Earth Cafe is a big blow for Manchester, which has seen many of its most beloved institutions permanently shutter-up due to the current economic climate.
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But the eatery was also invaluable in how it functioned as something of a gateway for the Buddhist Centre.
Those intrigued by the prospect of learning more about Buddhism and spirituality would often visit Earth first to ease themselves in, before moving further into the venue once they’d had a bite to eat.
“It’s been quite interesting, when people found out it was closing, one of the impressions I got was that it was part of the experience of the Buddhist Centre,” Vidyapala explains.
“Some of the people who came down to the centre were interested in Buddhism but were perhaps a bit intimidated at actually going into the Centre.
“The cafe helped to ease them in almost. People would come to the cafe and then check out the centre upstairs.”
The future for the cafe space, where owners once plated up wholesome piles of healthy food alongside coffee and juice, is uncertain.
Vidyapala says there may be plans later down the line to do something else, but for the time being, the loss is a little too raw.
Attention is mostly focused on the Buddhist Centre itself – which has found a way to continue operating despite the lockdown measures imposed for a great portion of 2020.
“It’s been tough for us,” Vidyapala admits.
“But we are starting to run more in-person classes slowly, just on Tuesdays for the time being, and the numbers have to be very limited because of social distancing.
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“We’ve got an online programme of meditation and web-based classes which we’ve been running over the past few months.
“We’re a big, busy centre, still. We’re always seeing people getting involved at all different levels; some who’ve been coming for donkey’s years and others who are dipping their toe in and coming to the occasional class.
“It’s quite a big community. All sorts of people come down.”
Whilst Earth Cafe – an old access point for Buddhist Centre visitors – might be gone; Vidyapala wants people to know that the Centre itself remains one of the most welcoming locations in the Northern Quarter – with a friendly community to match.
“Everyone’s welcome to come to the Buddhist Centre – you don’t have to be a Buddhist,” Vidyapala assures us.
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“You can look around our bookshop. You can ask questions to our receptionists about Buddhism, meditation and how these things can change your life.
“Anybody and everybody is welcome.”
2020 has kept Manchester on tenterhooks; creating stress and concern beyond the likes of which many have never felt before.
But at the Buddhist Centre, the queasy racket of COVID melts into barely-audible background noise.
Taking a step inside takes you a million miles away from the world outdoors.
Attending classes and making donations all make a huge difference to the survival of the centre. You can discover more about ways to help online.
Feature
Vanilli’s – the Manchester bakery and dessert spot that has carried on the tradition of an old Italian favourite
Danny Jones
Vanilli’s Cake Company is one of those names whose reach extends far and wide, with a history that goes way back into the past, and a deeper Greater Manchester heritage than you can imagine.
It’s one almost as rich as the desserts they’ve been making across the city centre and beyond for decades, but it also begins back in Italy.
Formerly San Marco Products, a fellow cult-favourite bakery, suppliers and catering company from way back, owner Sapna Kumar took over their old premises on Crown Industrial Estate over in Ancoats more than six years ago, and has been carrying on their sweet treat traditions ever since.
The difference these days is that it’s gone from more of an Italian ‘pasticceria’ to a Mancunian bakery with both local and Indian roots.
Born out of pregnancy cravings ahead of her third child, ironically, Vanilli’s Cake Co. went from an unfortunately timed passion project conceived on the cusp of the pandemic to a mainstay of Greater Manchester and North West markets and now part of a mini Manc empire in the making.
After taking control of the old commercial premises back in 2020, their understated but impressively high-output unit still has lots of regulars in the know coming in for the good stuff, but still operates somewhat under the radar.
Maybe that’s part of the reason their quality control has remained at such a high level: although they provide to plenty of vendors all across the city and wider region, they’ve never overextended themselves to the point that even the slightest of standards slips.
If you’ve met Sapna before – the charismatic matriarch behind this brand and others like spin-off Cake Bar Co. and most recently, Punjabee – you’ll know that she doesn’t do anything by half measures.
And yes, there are Vanilli’s desserts on sale here, too.
A familiar face at the likes of Foodie Friday and various other street food stalls across the 10 boroughs and even further afield, she’s been doing some of these events since the very outset.
Sadly, without going into too much detail, she admits that there have been instances where her generosity has been “taken advantage of on more than one occasion”, but they will never stop her continuing to offer a helping hand.
The difference this time, however, is that she’s not simply putting others before herself all the time anymore; the Manc mum who’s played mother to many through her work over the years is finally shouting about herself and her unsung but nevertheless dedicated and talented team more.
And not just a little bit, either (no half measures, remember?) – she proudly proclaims that not only does Vanilli’s serve up some of the most authentic traditional recipes, but she happily lays claim to whipping up “the best Manchester tart” you’ll find anywhere.
As for this location, specifically, she simply wants to give people like you a reminder that it’s been there for more than 30 years at this point
She’s also looking to rebuild support throughout the community by teaming up with local brands and creators moving forward. Again, it’s about time she finally got on the receiving end of ‘You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’, which sounds like it’s long overdue.
Having recently put on a speciality spread for us, showcasing not only the classic but some fresh new ideas and creative takes on familiar, we can assure you some very delicious things are coming from Vanilli’s throughout the rest of 2026.
So, if like Sapna, you love “indulging in the sweeter side of life”, give a Vanilli’s cake, pastry or one of their other tasty desserts soon.
Find all of these and more at Unit 8, Crown Industrial, Poland Street, M4 6BN. (Credit: The Manc)
Blossoms deliver most rock and roll performance in years as Declan McKenna joins them on stage
Danny Jones
Last night, we were fortunate enough to be there in the flesh not only to see Blossoms play a special anniversary show in Manchester, but to witness Declan McKenna join them on stage.
A tiny part of us was wondering if we’d see Rick Astley roll out into the venue, but let’s just say we’ll absolutely take this.
Celebrating a decade to the day since the release of the self-titled debut LP – yes, we feel old, too – Blossoms announced the one-off intimate show at The Deaf Institute, a venue they hadn’t played in 12 whole years (good lord…), and it served as much more than a night of nostalgia.
But we’ll admit, the highlight was almost certainly seeing the ‘Brazil’ and ‘British Bombs’ singer join Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Myles Kellock and Joe Donovan on stage for their smallest gig since god knows when.
We’ve gotten somewhat used to seeing the Enfield-born solo artist popping up at random venues across the country and even performing DJ sets at local pubs.
If you haven’t seen that Kylie Minogue clip before, you really need to…
However, we don’t think anyone in the crowd was expecting this cameo, let alone hearing them perform a co-written track off the new record live in front of the audience for the very first time.
As if all of this wasn’t already a bit bonkers and left-field, the song in question, entitled ‘Additional Driver’, was self-admittedly so surprising in SO many ways that Tom felt he needed to explain the full story behind it and why Declan shouted “shoulda got the 192” before they started playing.
Yes, in some kind of Greater Mancunian fever dream, we’ve finally got artists writing lyrics about the region’s most infamous bus route that we’re sure most, if not all of you, can relate to.
But it wasn’t just this moment that had us debating in our heads, ‘are they the best Manc or maybe in Northern band full stop going right now?’, it was seeing them slip so seamlessly back into the more straight-down-the-line indie rock from their first chapter of studio material that did it.
Everyone knows and loves the biggest bangers from that inaugural outing: ‘Getaway’, ‘Charlemagne’, ‘At Most a Kiss’, ‘Honey Sweet’, etc.; but it’s hard to forget just how quintessentially rock and roll tunes like ‘Blow Rose’, ‘Cut Me and I’ll Bleed’, ‘Texia’ and even some of the other deep cuts/early releases are.
Don’t get us wrong, we love how much the dressing up (musically and quite literally) they’ve done over the years as their production, creativity and experimentation has increased, but it’s always hard to beat that feeling you get when finding an artist’s first album – especially one as good as Blossoms‘.
In fairness, listening back to ‘Deep Grass’ all these years later, we’ll still remember how spacey, psychedelic and downright different that intro felt back in the day; it now feels like a fitting end to that maiden outing and the perfect jumping-off point for what has been a real sonic exploration ever since.
For a lad born in SK2 and lucky enough to have seen these lads right from the start, stuff like this will never not feel surreal to me.
Long live ‘Blossoms from Stockport‘, and roll on Songs From The Wedding Cake this October.
The Manc -
9th September 2020 
