Michelin-recommended gastropub The Moorcock has announced its permanent closure in an emotional statement.
The renowned country pub is a popular dining destination for Mancs, located a stone’s throw away in Sowerby Bridge.
As well as making its way into the Michelin Guide, The Moorcock also has a spot in the Top 50 Gastropubs and has received rave reviews from The Times’ Marina O’Loughlin as well as from us here at The Manc.
Despite its global reputation, its owners have announced in an emotional statement that The Moorcock’s days are numbered, The Hoot reports.
Aimee Turford, who runs the business with her partner Alisdair Brooke-Taylor, confirmed that it would cease trading in January next year.
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The Moorcock pub in Sowerby Bridge announced its closure last night.
The decision has been prompted by the end of their five-year lease, as well as the ‘unstable world’ of rising costs, supply issues and ‘looming recession’.
She wrote: “Frankly, it’s just no time to be running a small business like ours.”
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The heartfelt statement, which she said ‘reads like an obituary’, also thanked the hoards of ‘brilliant people’ who have supported The Moorcock every step of the way.
It says: “We feel such a deep affection for what our little place has become. A pub, a really good pub, with walkers and dogs and destination diners and locals and foodie-people, all mixed and mingled in together.
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“This is our little place. Very much a ‘gnarly boozer’ (Mandy Wragg) on the outside, but which just brims with warmth on the inside. Where the flaws and the charm are all sort of mixed up together; inextricable. The antithesis of a shiny veneer with little substance.”
Aimee’s post goes on to stress the amount of effort that goes into every tiny detail in The Moorcock, down to the ingredients created in-house and the drinks list that has ‘something for everyone’.
Food at The Moorcock. Credit: The Hoot
It continues: “We have met so many brilliant people along the way- hundreds of you- who have supported us. Those that visit for food, for company, for the wine list or a few pints.
“Those who bring produce, come along to help with DIY and gardening, our neighbours who will get us out of trouble with anything from loo rolls to change- and more.
“There are those that have picked us up when we were down, especially during the pandemic. It’s been a truly special experience. One that can never be repeated or replaced, at least, not by us.”
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The Moorcock has stated that it has ‘no plans’ to try and recreate the magic of the pub in a new site.
The Moorcock has announced its closure. Credit: The Moorcock
But it is urging people to pay a visit before January to make ‘the rest of our time here a celebration of The Moorcock’.
“Not much in life lasts forever, does it,” their statement says. “But sometimes, knowing when something will end makes it easier to make the most of what’s left. We certainly plan to do just that.”
And it adds: “We cannot know what is next for The Moorcock, but we are grateful to have been a little piece of its history. Love or loathe us, we suspect this incarnation will be remembered for a while. And we will never forget this little pub on this windy hill. With its wild weather, warm people and those sunsets. Which gave a lot and took a lot. In a way that things in life can sometimes.”
Greater Manchester customers slam Sainsbury’s policy that makes them ‘feel like thieves’
Georgina Pellant
Customers at a number of Sainsbury’s stores in Greater Manchester have been left fuming as the result of a policy requiring receipts to be scanned before they can exit
Upon leaving stores, shoppers at Sainsbury’s supermarkets in Fallowfield and Salford are being confronted with automated barriers that can only be opened by scanning their receipt – or by contacting a store assistant.
Many have taken to Reddit to slam the new policy, with several claiming it is a ‘pointless waste of money and time’ and others saying they have been left ‘feeling like thieves’.
The receipt barriers, some shoppers say, only ‘makes life harder’ – yet it appears that Sainsbury’s is planning to roll them out at other stores across the UK too, following on from the introduction of cameras at its self-service stations in recent years.
The move by the supermarket echoes similar moves by the American supermarket Walmart, which is notorious for staff approaching ‘random’ customers at its exits and asking them to produce their receipts as they leave stores.
You don’t have to comply with this. Just push the barrier open and keep walking.@sainsburys need to learn to treat their customers better. pic.twitter.com/aCnPyxixWu
A series of recent posts on Reddit exposes several threads in which users commented on the introduction of the receipt barriers, both here in Greater Manchester as well as further afield.
The social media site reveals that stores in Fallowfield and Salford have both become unpopular since they started adopting the policy, which requires customers to scan receipts in order for them to exit.
If receipts are not scanned, barriers prevent customers from leaving until a store assistant is contacted.
One Reddit user has posted a picture of a notice in one of the Sainsbury’s store, reading: “We’ve introduced new barriers as you leave this store.”
“You’ll need to take your receipt and scan this on the barcode reader in front of the barriers.”
@sainsburys Salford New Bailey Square- security colleague very unpleasantly ordered me to scan the receipt from the Costa machine instead of tapping the drink on the screen. A meal deal so wouldn’t effect the price. Why is the option to tap on the screen if not allowed to use?
— Andrew O'Callaghan (@andyocallaghan) May 7, 2023
The original poster said they were ‘not a fan of how this is spreading’, leading other users on the site to agree.
Another person said the policy was a ‘pointless waste of money and time’ that ‘just makes everyone’s life harder, whilst another customer added: “Looks like Sainsbury’s can get f****d then.”
@sainsburys Salford making you scan your receipt after using self scan. What a big fat waste of paper. Grow up
@sainsburys I've just been locked in to self-checkout for not getting a receipt. By treating me as a thief you have lost me as a decades-long customer. Outrageous. Open more checkouts if you want to verify all purchases. You are greedy and hostile. Goodbye and good riddance.
The installation of the barriers has left some customers “feeling like thieves” since their arrival last year but it appears that the supermarket has no plans to suspend the rollout, despite the backlash from shoppers.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said that the barriers are “one of a range of security measures” installed in a “small number of stores” but would not disclose how many it has installed in the UK.
Featured image –Twitter
Food & Drink
Inside the new Simpson’s-themed cafe that has opened in Manchester city centre
Georgina Pellant
A new cafe with food and decor inspired by The Simpson’s has opened in Manchester city centre, and it’s already proving quite the mecca for fans of the satirical American cartoon.
Called Desert Island Dumplings, the new cafe – which sells a range of non-traditional vegan dumplings, salt and pepper chips, hash browns, and naughty noodles – can be found on the top floor of Affleck’s in the Northern Quarter.
Bursting with The Simpson’s memorabilia, the team has really nailed the theme here with a giant chalk blackboard reading: “I will not eat too many dumplings” over and over again.
This continues with retro school desks, a painted ‘blue sky’ ceiling, a Simpson’s scarf, and a Bart-shaped gaming monitor hooked up to an old Play Station and Game Cube (complete with the original Simpson’s Road Rage game and The Sims).
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
The cafe even boasts a larger-than-life mural of Homer disappearing into a hedge, taken from a 1994 episode of the show where Homer attempts to befriend his neighbour Flanders.
Speaking on the inspiration behind The Simpson’s theme, owner Lucy Linford told The Manc that one day a customer brought in a The Simpson’s scarf and ‘it just grew from there’.
She said: “Some people are a bit confused and I guess it is a bit weird, but it started because I do love The Simpsons and I do watch it a lot.
“The Simpsons thing just, like, evolved. Some guy came to Ancoats with that scarf to give me, and then we had that hanging up, and then it just came bit by bit.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
“If anyone asks it’s kind of like, I wanted to open a cafe that I’d go to and I’d want to go to a cafe that had Simpson’s stuff, so I made that happen.”
As well as featured plenty of The Simpson’s memorabilia on its walls, the cafe also boasts a host of Simpsons-inspired dishes.
On its menu, you’ll find the likes of non-traditional dumplings in flavours like cheeseburger, salt and pepper chick’n and overnight blueberry oat, alongside the likes of drunken noodles, salt and pepper chips and salt and pepper hash browns.
There are a bunch of Simpson’s-themed menu items, ranging from steamed hams to an array of combo boxes inspired by different characters in the show including ‘The Lisa’s Lunch Special’. ‘The Homer’s home Early Mega Box’, ‘The It’s All Coming Up Millhouse Special’ and ‘The moe Syzslak Mystery Mega Box.’
As for drinks, these are limited to soft drinks with favourites like Ribena and Coke available alongside delicious Columbian filter coffee, various teas and mugs of hot chocolate.
Daisy Jackson -
31st March 2022 
