Manchester’s pubs, bars and hospitality professionals will be celebrated in a huge awards ceremony later this month.
Now in its fifth year, the Manchester Bar Awards picks out the very best operators in the city – with 2022’s categories championing the city’s Best Restaurant Bar, Best Speciality Bar, Best New Bar, Best Food Offering, and Bartender of the Year.
Further categories pay homage to professionals within the industry, with awards given to the best bar backs, front of house staff and rising stars.
Run by a group of Manchester bartenders and hospitality professionals, the awards were set up by the admins of a local Facebook group in 2018 to champion local people working in the industry.
First created in 2012 to help fundraise for Movember, today the Facebook group is a decade old and one of the country’s leading hospitality-focused groups – boasting over 17,000 members.
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Image: Climat
Image: Blinker
The shortlist for the 2023 awards has just been revealed, with members of the city’s bar community now being encouraged to vote for their favourites.
In a nod to the quirkiness of the city’s bar scene, this year’s Best Speciality Bar Award names Ancoats wine bar Flawd, The Briton’s Protection (for its epic Jack Daniels collection) and The Whiskey Jar, brewery-owned bar Northern Monk, and Mulligan’s of Deansgate (widely renowned for having the most perfect pint of Guinness in the city.)
Salt & Pepper, The Sparrows, Kong’s, Climat and Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria are all shortlisted for the Restaurant / Food Concept of the Year category, whilst the Best New Bar award shortlist features Blinker, Sterling, Exhibition, New Century and Project Halcyon.
Elsewhere, rising stars and MVPS have their own categories, whilst an outstanding achievement award highlights those who’ve done good for the community – picking out a key leader of Manchester’s hospitality recruitment scene, alongside others including mental-health focused organisation So Let’s Talk.
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Image: Speak In Code
Image: Schofield’s Bar
This year’s event ceremony will be held on 14 March at First Street dive bar Bunny Jackson’s, an industry favourite amongst many of Manchester’s bartenders, and promises to be a raucous, fun-filled affair.
Speaking on the upcoming awards ceremony, organiser Nate Booker said: “We were amazed and proud at the breadth of people and venues included in this year’s Manchester’s Bars Awards shortlist.
“It truly is the pinnacle of the great talent and ambition we have in the city. We want to thank everyone who voted for helping to build this shortlist and we can’t wait to see the results as we put it forward to our wider community to have their say!
“And we’d like to say a big thank you to all the sponsors that help make the event so vibrant and enjoyable! See you on the 14th at Bunny Jackson’s.”
Voting is open now and will close next Monday 13 March at midnight.
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The full shortlist for this year’s Manchester Bar Awards ceremony:
Bartender of the Year – Sponsored by Angel’s Envy Kentucky Bourbon
Jonathan Moncur – Speak in Code
Deana Ferguson – Hawksmoor/Redlight
Adam Montanaro-Taylor – Project Halcyon
Dionysios ‘Dio’ Tzorouchof – Cane & Grain
Conor Knowles – Schofield’s
Manchester’s Best Bar Back – Sponsored by Belle de Brillet Liqueur
Sid Curry – Sherlock’s
Huanxuejiao Xiong – Sterling
Craig Dwyer – Junior Jackson’s
Eduardo Barbosa – 20 Stories
Iglis Zaraj – Tattu
Manchester’s Rising Star – Sponsored by Old J Rum
Reah Owen – Project Halcyon
Caitlyn Grocott – Blind Tyger
Eddie Smyth – Tariff
Joe Kereszteny-Lewis – 10 Tib Lane
Ben Topham-Taylor – Blind Tyger
Front of House Hero- Sponsored by Cazcabel Tequila
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Alex Proudfoot – Wolf at the Door
Paola Mariotti – Sterling
Hannah Wingfield – Ramona
Taylor Martin – Tariff & Dale
Oliver Hughes – Ramona
Outstanding Achievement Award! Sponsored by Jägermeister
Abi Dunn – 68 People
The Schofields – Schofields, Sterling, Stock Market Grill, Atomeca
Nathan Larkin – Speak in Code
Dan Berger – Blinker Bar
Paddy & the Team at So Let’s Talk
Manchester’s Bar of the Year Sponsored by Jameson
Decided by the industry.
Best New Bar Sponsored by Ford’s Gin
Blinker
Sterling
Exhibition
New Century
Project Halcyon
Speciality Venue of the Year Sponsored by Tipples
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Briton’s Protection – Whisky
Flawd, Wine
Northern Monk, Beer
Mulligan’s – Guiness
Whisky Jar – Whisky
Restaurant/Food Concept the Year sponsored by Tito’s Vodka
Salt & Pepper
Sparrows
Kong’s
Climat
Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria
Further event partners include MONIN (The Official Syrup & Liqueur Partner), The Official Mixer & Softs Partner (Fever Tree), The Official Hooch of the MBAs (Hooch), The Official Media Partner (The Manc), The Official Reception Drink of the MBAs (Buzzball), The Official NOLO Partner (Lyre’s) The Official Hydration Partner (Marlish Water) and The Awards Partner (Urban Bar).
Pizza Hut releases list of 68 branches set to close – including several in Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Pizza Hut has published its list of 68 restaurants that are set to close their doors, and includes several in Greater Manchester.
In case you missed the announcement earlier this week, Pizza Hut confirmed that it had entered into administration, and DC London Pie – the firm running the once-popular chain’s restaurants in the UK – had appointed administrators from corporate finance firm, FTI.
Since its start, Pizza Hut has always been known and loved for its family-friendly dining, particularly its popular pizza buffet, salad bar, and ice cream machine.
But business in the UK has been struggling for the chain for a while, and it had previously gone into administration less than a year ago, but that was when DC London Pie stepped in and saved the chain’s restaurants from insolvency.
Now though, some 1,210 people are due to be made redundant as 68 Pizza Hut restaurants close down.
Pizza Hut has released its list of 68 branches set to close their doors / Credit: Alan Hardman (via Unsplash)
Branches in Bolton, Tameside, Oldham, and Rochdale are among the locations in Greater Manchester set to close their doors, as well as several others in the North West like Liverpool, Preston, and Lancaster, and even major capital cities like Edinburgh and Cardiff.
11 delivery outlets are also set to close, which do not have indoor dining seating – however none of these are in Greater Manchester.
Luckily, a total of 64 branches have been saved as part of a rescue deal by American hospitality giant Yum! Brands, which owns the global Pizza Hut business.
Yum! Brands said it had bought the UK restaurant operation in a pre-pack administration deal, and the rescue has secured the future of 1,276 workers.
Full list of Pizza Hut locations set to close
Ashton-under-Lyne
Beckton
Bolton
Bournemouth
Bradford, Vicar Lane
Brighton, Marina
Bristol
Cardiff
Carlisle
Chatham
Clacton
Cortonwood
Crawley
Cribbs Causeway
Croydon
Dudley
Dundee
Durham City
Eastbourne
Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Fountain Park
Edinburgh, Kinnaird Park
Enfield
Falkirk
Feltham
Finchley, Lido
Great Yarmouth
Greenwich
Grimsby
Hartlepool
Hayes
Hereford
Huddersfield
Hull
Inverness
Kettering
Kidderminster
Lancaster
Leeds, Colton Mill
Leeds, Kirkstall Road
Leeds, White Rose
Liverpool
Llanelli
Lowestoft
Manchester Fort
Middlesbrough
Norwich
Oldham
Poole, Tower Park
Portsmouth
Preston
Reading Gate
Rhyl
Rochdale
Romford
Russell Square, London
Scunthorpe
Shrewsbury
Silverlink
Solihull
St Helens
Stratford-upon-Avon
Thanet
Truro
Urmston
Wellingborough
Wigan
Yeovil
A spokesperson for Pizza Hut UK said it was ‘pleased’ to secure the continuation of 64 sites to safeguard its guest experience and protect the associated jobs.
“Approximately 2,259 team members will transfer to the new Yum! equity business under UK TUPE legislation, including above-restaurant leaders and support teams,” the spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
Nicolas Burquier, who is the Managing Director of Pizza Hut Europe and Canada, called Monday’s agreement a ‘targeted acquisition’, Sky News reports.
The Head Of Steam to move into site of short-lived Northern Quarter gastropub
Daisy Jackson
Well-known pub group The Head Of Steam has revealed plans to take over a prominent Northern Quarter site.
The craft beer brand will move into the Grade II-listed building that was (very briefly) home to the Lamb of Tartary gastropub, which sadly shut down after just six months.
Prior to that, the landmark building was the home of Cottonopolis.
It’s been empty since Lamb of Tartary shut down more than a year ago, but now The Head of Steam is swooping into Manchester city centre to bring it back to life.
Their plans include 30 beer lines (24 keg and six cask), augmented reality darts, live sports across six screens, and a dedicated pop-up kitchen from a local operator, also making its debut in Manchester City Centre.
Spanning 2,800 sq ft, there’ll be space for 180 guests, with a design that will mix ‘industrial character and Northern warmth’.
It sounds like there are changes in store from the Lamb of Tartary days – there’s talk of a striking circular central bar, surrounded by exposed brickwork and restored original features.
Behind that bar you’ll be able to enjoy a UK craft beers, plus a vast collection of Belgian beers, alongside a rotating selection of cans and bottles, as well as a fresh cocktail menu and quality spirits range.
The Head Of Steam to move into site of short-lived Northern Quarter gastropub. Credit: Supplied
The Head of Steam was established back in 1995 and is part of Camerons Brewery. The group already has 15 venues across 13 cities, including an existing Manchester pub out in Didsbury.
Mark Connor, Head of Operations & Brand for The Head of Steam, said: “We’re excited to be joining the Northern Quarter community and to bring our favourite UK brewers, alongside classics from our extensive Belgian range, to this vibrant part of the city.
“The location is incredible, and being able to offer something new and exciting to the area is fantastic for us.
“We can’t wait to open our doors later this year, meet our neighbours, and become a part of this iconic area of Manchester.”
The Head of Steam will open at 16 Newton Street in the Northern Quarter later this year.