A Manchester man who first started baking during lockdown to help raise funds for the NHS is now planning on opening his own cafe in the new year.
Whilst furloughed from his fashion retail job, Loaf founder Aiden Ryan started baking from home to raise money for the NHS to tackle PPE shortages and a lack of staff food on site.
Within a month, he’d raised £1,000 selling just 120 sweetie and chocolate-loaded loaf cakes and carried on baking until restrictions were lifted – at which point he was ready to hang up his apron strings and return to his day job as a manager at Belstaff.
Image: Loaf Manchester
Life, however, had other plans – with Ezra and Gil getting in touch to ask if he might consider baking cakes for their cafes after seeing them on Instagram.
“At first I was going to politely decline (as I didn’t know where to start!) but there was an overwhelming feeling of ‘it’s meant to be’ – as cheesy as that sounds,” says Aiden.
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“So, I said yes, and I haven’t stopped baking since.”
In the past year and then some, he’s not just supplied Ezra but also Feel Good Club, Hampton and Vouis, Propeller Coffee, Makers Quarter and more – with his loaded loaf cakes going down a storm.
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Image: Loaf Manchester
Now, he’s ready to open his own cafe for fans to get stuck into the cakes, which come covered in all manner of sweet treats including Lotus Biscoff, Jammy Dodgers, Kinder Buenos, figs, creme eggs and Bourbon biscuits.
But he needs your help to make this dream, which he’s been working towards since the start of Covid, into a solid bricks-and-mortar reality.
Aiden is currently fundraising to open a Loaf cafe all of his own on Oxford road, with plans to take over the former Patisserie Valerie unit in March.
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The fundraiser, which is hosted over on Kickstarter, has currently raised £4,508 of its £45,000 goal at the time of writing – and still has quite a way to go before the Kickstarter closes on 14 January.
Image: Loaf Manchester
Funds will go towards the cost of fitting out the unit, essential machinery, marketing and hiring new staff for the business – all of whom will be paid a living wage.
“I started Loaf with nothing, but we’ve grown through community – and so it only felt right for our next step to be crowdfunding,” said Aiden.
“There’s been a fantastic response to the brand and the growth in just a year has been phenomenal. I think it’s time that we gave Manchester it’s very own Loaf Mcr destination.”
Those pledging will receive the same amount – or more – back in treats once the shop opens, plus the satisfaction of helping a young Manchester business get off the ground in the city.
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To pledge to the fundraiser and help the Loaf cafe become a reality, click here.
Mongrel – New taproom and pizzeria set to move into the former Street Urchin site
Daisy Jackson
A brand new taproom, coffee shop and pizzeria concept has announced plans to move into Ancoats.
Mongrel will come from the same team behind Crust, a much-raved-about pizza joint that operated off a Stockport industrial estate until earlier this year.
They’ve now confirmed they have their sights set on the city centre, specially the magnificent corner unit that was previously home to the beloved Street Urchin.
Street Urchin suddenly closed earlier this year after co-founder and head chef Kevin suffered a heart attack, leaving them ‘unable to continue as a business’.
Rachel Choudhary, Kevin’s partner and co-founder of the neighbourhood restaurant, wrote at the time that they were ‘heartbroken’ to close the business.
Street Urchin was quietly one of the top restaurants in Ancoats and operated in a market diner fashion, creatively cooking the best catch of the day for an ever-changing menu that honoured each season.
Thankfully, this key corner unit won’t be quiet for much longer, with another local operator now lined up to move in.
Inside Street Urchin before its closure – the site will now become a pizzeria called Mongrel. Credit: The Manc Group
Mongrel has so far shared that it’s set to be a ‘coffee shop, pizza place and taproom, all under one roof’.
Upon closing Crust in Stockport they confirmed this will be ‘a huge step up from the Crüst you know and love’.
They posted on Instagram: “Thanks to everyone who’s popped down over the last year. We’re eternally grateful for the support from our fantastic customers, and will look back on this period with huge gratitude.
“It’s with great sadness that we announce our departure from Stockport. We know this will come as a disappointment to our Crüst family – we haven’t made this decision lightly.
“We have been looking for a new premesis in Stockport for a while, however after multiple applications going nowhere, we have finally found a new home in Manchester City Center!
“Our new home will be a huge step up from the Crüst you know and love… We can’t to reveal what’s to come!
Mongrel is set to open its taproom and pizzeria on Great Ancoats Street, in the former Street Urchin site, in November.
Wet Leg announce huge outdoor gig in Manchester as part of landmark live dates
Clementine Hall
Isle of Wight five-piece Wet Leg have announced their biggest headline shows to date, announcing a trio of huge outdoor gigs, including one right here in Manchester at Castlefield Bowl.
The multi-award-winning indie and alt outfit rose to fame back in 2022 with iconic tracks like Chaise Longue and Wet Dream, packing out stages at Glastonbury not long after releasing their critically acclaimed debut album.
Becoming their second consecutive number one in just as many attempts, moisturizer, is equally as fun and fabulous as the first – we cannot wait to hear it live in these.
Comprised of two lead singers in Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, Ellis Durand on bass, drummer Henry Holmes and guitarist Joshua Mobaraki, this lot can make plenty of noise.
And as you can see, to make things even better, they’ll be joined by Leeds’ very own English Teacher as the main support act at each one of the landmarks shows.
As for their down south show, they’ll also be playing Alexandra Palace Park down in the capital to round out this run of live dates next summer.
It goes without saying that we’re obviously buzzing to see them become the latest name on the lineup for the 2026 Sounds of the City series, with a hometown hero also joining the ranks as of this month:
Wet Leg are in good company when they rock up to Castlefield Bowl.
Set to play the Bowl on Wednesday, 8 July, before heading to Leeds and then London for consecutive nights, we’re sure you’ll see them playing tonnes more big stages throughout festival season.
Tickets for all three of Wet Leg’s confirmed dates for 2026 go on sale this Friday, 31 October from 9:30am, and you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
We reckon this one will be a real ticket scramble, so we wouldn’t mess about if you want to bag yourself a ticket; in fact, given that all of their live shows this year sold out, we know it will…
Georgina Pellant -
30th December 2021 
