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
A glimpse at Manchester’s newest restaurant and bar, opening soon with beautiful skyline views
Daisy Jackson
A beautiful new 14th-floor food and drink destination is coming to Manchester in the coming weeks, home to both a new restaurant AND a new bar.
This will be the latest addition to Manchester’s Treehouse Hotel, which opened last year transforming a huge building at the end of Deansgate.
Now the hotel is unveiling the final chapter of its opening, with a new elevated dining and drinking offering, with beautiful skyline views.
Up first will be rooftop restaurant Sistermoon, a new project from acclaimed chef Sam Grainger (you know him from Madre, among others).
Sam will be working alongside Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford (Electric Chair, Volta, Freight Island) on Sistermoon, a Southeast Asian BBQ concept inspired by his time cooking with a local family in Thailand.
Also opening way up here on the 14th floor will be The Nest, a new signature bar with panoramic views of Manchester that will be a destination for late-night drinks and social occasions.
Treehouse Hotel is opening a new 14th-floor restaurant and bar
And at the very top of the hotel, The Hideout will open as an intimate rooftop lounge and event space designed for private hire.
The final phase of the hotel will also see nine premium suites open, from huge Presidential Suites to interconnecting rooms – expect walk-in wardrobes, kitchens, and skyline views.
Treehouse Hotel is already home to 224 playful guest rooms, the award-winning Pip restaurant, the private Flix cinema, and Playground gym.
Sistermoon, The Nest, and The Hideout will open on 11 June – you can sign up to find out more HERE.
‘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…
Daisy Jackson -
3rd December 2021 
