There aren’t many meals quite as fulfilling as a huge helping of chips at the end of a night out – and an old relic in Manchester city centre had a reputation for exactly that.
The Station Chippy used to stand at Piccadilly Plaza, facing out onto rows of idling buses.
The Piccadilly Gardens takeaway wasn’t fancy, but it was the destination of choice for Mancs heading home from a night out for years.
At one stage, Station Chippy installed a hatch, from which it would pass out massive portions of chips swimming in gravy.
It also used to serve giant spring rolls and was famed for its spicy curry sauce, ladled onto chips.
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Piccadilly Plaza. Credit: Manchester Libraries
Professor Brian Cox even said, in an interview with the M.E.N. back in 2019, that it was his favourite place to eat in Manchester.
He told the paper: “I remember Piccadilly Gardens bus station vividly.
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“I didn’t go to Manchester very much until I was 16. I used to go to Cloud 9 on Cross Street.
“Me and my friends used to get the bus from Oldham to Piccadilly and walk down. I was a goth at the time so I used to walk down in overcoats and purple hair.
“Then at the end of the night we used to go to the chippy in the bus station chips to eat chips and curry sauce at 3am before we got the night bus back.”
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Memories of the Station Chippy were the talk of the town earlier this week, when people shared nostalgic memories in our Mint Manchester group.
Late nights in Station Chippy. Credit: Flickr, Portlandbill
Helen kickstarted the conversation with this post: “Does anyone else remember Station Chippy in Piccadilly Gardens, near where the bus stops are? Surely can’t just be me? Not sure what year it was there until but has to be at least 15 years as you could enjoy a post meal cigarette!!”
Chantelle replied: “Use to come out of Saturdays snd straight over there before getting our taxi home sh*t faced. Good old days”
Claire commented: “I do was it along the row of shops and picadilly radio was upstairs? Best chippy after the pubs and clubs at 2am in the 90’s”
Keri added: “Always finished the night queuing at the hatch before getting a taxi”
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Anita had a rite of passage at Station Chippy too, saying: “Had my first ever donner kebab in there!”
Station Chippy was underneath Piccadilly Radio. Credit: Manchester Libraries
Mark had a word of advice though, writing: “we use to order chips and gravy, then when they brought it over we’d say oh and can of vimto as well please, then leg it. Wasn’t a very good Idea running drunk with chips and gravy in a tray”
Over on Twitter, the subject turned to the stark lack of late-night chippies in Manchester these days.
Someone tweeted: “You know what you can’t get late on in Manchester after a few beers these days ? A decent chippy. Manchester used to be full of them. Every fkin corner. This is more important than Brexit.”
In reply, another said: “The station chippy at Piccadilly Gardens was the winner. Rest in peas.”
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Rest in peas indeed.
Featured image: Manchester Libraries / Wikimedia Commons
Food & Drink
‘Stunning’ Old Rectory pub in Stockport suffers permanent closure
Danny Jones
One of Stockport town centre’s most beautiful pub venues, The Old Rectory, has officially closed down permanently following notices about its “final stages”.
Built circa 1740, the historic space itself has been there since before the Regency period.
Stockport‘s Old Rectory pub on Churchgate has been a number of different things over the decades, and has changed hands multiple times in more recent years, but now the Greene King site has shut down, what seems like, for good.
In fact, if you look online, it is already listed as ‘permanently closed’ on Google, as does a temporary sign now stuck to the gates of their entrance, with the most recent service last week being their final one.
With the news having since been shared on the Stockport Tourism notice board on Facebook, a post from the ‘Old Rec’ team reads: “We are sad to announce that The Old Rectory will be closing its doors at the end of this month. Thank you to everyone who has visited and supported the venue over the years.”
An update has also now been shared on the official CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) website.
Issuing a statement directly to The Manc, a spokesperson for Greene King said: “Following a period of team member consultation, we can confirm that the Old Rectory has now closed.
“We are grateful to everyone who has supported the Old Rectory over the years, and we look forward to welcoming them into our other pubs in the local area soon.”
They also go on to assure that they have worked with the team members who have sadly been put out of work to try and find new positions at other locations, with the operators urging Stopfordians to try other nearby pubs such as Gardeners Arms in Offerton and the recently refurbished Carousel in Reddish.
Described by CAMRA as a “multi-roomed pub-restaurant that still maintains a country house feel with plenty of dark wood and plush décor”, not to mention praising the all-day food service and “top notch” beer selection, its heyday may have been long ago, but it’ll still be missed by regulars and natives.
It’s also worth noting that the former Hungry Horse public house also long-served as an accommodation spot, too, with Premier Inn’s ‘Stockport Central Hotel’ attached to the back of the building.
There are no updates on this front at present, and they could easily repurpose what natives have hailed as a “stunning” Georgian structure – not to mention the expansive garden grounds – but the company is also currently cutting more than 3,800 jobs as part of a wider savings strategy.
Elsewhere, as SK residents bid goodbye to one veteran pub, they’re also gearing up to welcome back another former favourite…
Sacha Lord set to back local hospitality again with money behind the bar of Manchester pub
Danny Jones
Local figure Sacha Lord is once again looking to help support Greater Manchester’s food and drink scene once again this spring by putting a total of £2.5k behind the bar of one lucky pub.
Well, let’s be honest, we’re about to be the real lucky ones.
It’s far from the first time that the Night Time Economy Advisor has done this, having previously put sizeable sums towards shared tabs on a few occasions over the last few years.
Lining up his next handout for this coming early May bank holiday (perfect timing), it’s going to be a super and potentially very sloppy Sunday…
Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester.
Bank Holiday Sunday 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.
Sharing the video above online earlier this week, the 54-year-old simply wrote, “Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester. Bank Holiday Sunday, 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.”
The message is as straightforward as ever: “Support your local pub.”
Now obviously, the fact that people can reply with their go-to boozers and help influence the decision is one thing – something that has certainly always created an attraction each time he’s done this – but it’s also just a good way of marketing these watering holes to begin with.
Whether or not someone’s favourite public house tucked away in one of the 10 boroughs, or their bar of choice here in Manchester city centre, ends up being selected or not, it’s obviously great publicity having their names plastered on a notable social media account.
This is especially so when you see how much the post itself ends up being reshared and the overall exposure Lord ultimately lends them via creating such a big crowd discussion.
Confirming the chosen pub in a subsequent post, he said: “I asked you to choose a pub you wanted me to support. This Sunday, 4pm, I’ll be turning up at The Ape and Apple on John Dalton St, Manchester, and putting £2500 behind the bar.”
Here’s hoping we get proper beer garden weather over that long weekend – especially with that lovely refurbished outdoor terrace space up on the first floor of the Joseph Holt watering hole.
It’s also worth noting that the further support stunts like this have helped garner support for other regional businesses – in particular, indies that are battling the cost of living crisis and so many other challenges within the sector – has proved crucial for some places to stay open to begin with.
A good example is the Thirsty Korean, who teamed up with the Altrincham-born entrepreneur to cover hundreds of bills back in 2023, and has now been able to expand into a larger venue down the road from their original Chorlton location.
The obstacles facing the hospitality industry remain varied and numerous, but gestures like this can go a long way to helping prop up those who need it.
Which ones are you calling your favourites these days?
Daisy Jackson -
3rd December 2021 
