Manchester

Deansgate’s giant new bar BOX will open in time for the Christmas party season

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 18th November 2021

Some good news for those who have left planning the Christmas ‘do until the last minute, as award-winning sports bar BOX will open its new Manchester site in time for the festive season.

The giant new bar, already well-established in Leeds, is famed for screening live sports events, but will also be offering apres ski-style live entertainment and cocktails on tap.

Although not opening until November 27, bookings are now open for the festive season at the huge two-storey, 8000 sq ft venue.

Inside, there are 20 screens showing sports matches, two 21-foot European Shuffleboard tables, and a massive island bar.

As well as sports screenings, BOX will have live music at the weekends. Credit: The Photo Project

The upstairs level has been kitted out with booth seating and luxurious finishes for private viewings and parties – just in time for the festive season.

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One of BOX’s main selling points will be its ‘Bandeoke’ nights, where guests will join a live house band on stage to belt out their favourite karaoke hits.

On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, there’ll be live DJs and live bands too.

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Food at BOX bar will include platters for groups and parties. Credit: Supplied.

Fresh Budvar will be delivered directly from the Czech Republic each week and stored in beer tanks on site.

Then there’ll be BOX’s secret-recipe Pornstar and Espresso Martinis, available on tap.

For groups, there are giant cocktail steins you can share, alongside a selection of wines, spirits and local beers.

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Parties can also dig in to BOX Platters, which are packed with mini burgers, mozzarella fries, crispy popcorn chicken and succulent BBQ ribs.

Read more: The new restaurants and bars opening in Manchester this week

Other dishes on the menu include pizzas made with double-fermented dough, hand-formed burgers, and marinated kebabs.

BOX Manchester will be the fourth Arc Inspirations venue to open in the city, joining two Banyan sites (in Spinningfields and at the Corn Exchange), and Manahatta just down the road on Deansgate.

You can book a table or your Christmas party at BOX now at theboxbar.co.uk/bars/deansgate/book-table

Featured image: Supplied

Manchester

Pair jailed after filming themselves driving over 130mph before killing man in fatal Manchester collision

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Two men who filmed themselves driving at speeds of over 130mph before a fatal collision earlier this year have now been jailed.

20-year-old Uways Hussain, of Marley Road in Manchester, has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison, while 23-year-old Usmon Mahmood, of Buller Road in Manchester, has been sentenced to 12 years and nine months.

Their sentences follow a night of what Greater Manchester Police (GMP) called ‘dangerous driving’ around the South Manchester area, which started at around 11pm on the evening before the collision.

The vehicle – a Volkswagon Golf – belonged to Mahmood, but he allowed Hussain to drive the vehicle at high-speed throughout the night.

On the evening prior to the collision, beginning at around 11pm, Hussain and Mahmood were driving recklessly around the South Manchester area.

According to police, the pair filmed themselves consistently travelling at speeds of over 100mph on 30mph roads, and in several cases, theyvreached over 130mph and seconds before impact, were recorded at 139mph.

Recorded footage also showed them running red lights and weaving through traffic with no regard for the safety of other road users or pedestrians.

At one stage during the night, the pair stopped at a petrol station, where footage shows Mahmood inhaling from a balloon in the passenger seat, while later o Hussain can be seen doing over 100mph and also appearing to be inhaling from a balloon while driving.

The fatal collision happened at around 4:36am on Monday 9 March 2026 at the junction of Green End Road and Kingsway, where the victim – Sylvester Abayomi, 50 – was on his way to work and entered the junction on a green light, believing it was safe to proceed, but was then struck by the car being driven by Hussain, which had travelled through a red light at extremely high speed.

Sylvester Abayomi / Credit: GMP

Immediately following the collision, GMP received several emergency calls and an automatic alert from Hussain’s Apple Watch saying he had been involved in a collision.

During this alert, both men could be heard discussing plans to flee the scene and attempting to decide what evidence they needed to remove from the vehicle. They were also heard discussing reporting the vehicle as stolen, and shortly afterwards, they booked an Uber to escape.

Emergency services attended the scene, but sadly, despite their best efforts, Sylvester sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead.

GMP says it received its first report of the incident at 4:37am,, and within 12 minutes the pair had been located, caught, and arrested by officers.

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DC Thomas Johnson, from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, described the incident as ‘one of the most extreme cases of dangerous driving we have encountered’.

It’s also believed that this is one of the first times in the country where a passenger has been convicted for aid and abetting causing death by dangerous driving.

Featured Image – GMP

Manchester

Coffee Rules: The Greek-born cafe that’s gone on to become a beloved Greater Manchester brand

Danny Jones Danny Jones Coffee Rules Manchester locations

It’s rare that you find a place in an already saturated food and drink scene like Greater Manchester’s that genuinely comes across like a local community cornerstone, but that’s exactly what we got when we visited Coffee Rules in Salford.

We went for a brew, one of those viral iced coffee we’ve seen on socials, and maybe a nice bite to eat – but we left with much more and the impression that these lot are onto something big.

Opened in Arta back in their home country (also up in the northwest, by the way), they’ve never struggled to get queues out the door, and it’s no different here. This one is run by two siblings, 23-year-old Thomas and his younger brother Marios, 30, who have been smashing it since 2023.

Since launching their growing UK brand in the likes of The Meadows neighbourhood – one of two they have in the city of Salford alone, the other being Swinton – they’ve brought the lines with them. With authentic Greek food and drink like this, it’s not hard to see why.

coffee rules salford
marios thomas coffee rules
Credit: The Manc Group

They’ve now expanded to more than eight sites total, including one still keeping their own local reputation alive over in Athens, and this looks to be just the beginning.

Having not only spread across the ten boroughs but further out into the region with their Liverpool locations as well as a Yorkshire stronghold up in Sheffield, there’s more to come from Coffee Rules, both in terms of premises and their plans to take on the rest of the brunch game and beyond.

Suburban Mancs may have already seen the regular midday and weekend crowds that pack out their Chorlton venue, the Rusholme one is often filled with fresh-faced uni students in need of their caffeine fix, and it’s an increasingly similar story for those based in Bolton.

Or maybe you’re one of the many people based in Manchester city centre, who nip to their quiet, tucked-away corner of Ancoats for a fresh bake or even to have your eye caught by some of their merch with that modern mythological-inspired logo.

Whichever one happens to be closest to you, you’ll have the same satisfying experience, from sipping on speciality coffee and the scran, to the service and all-around atmosphere.

They’re also about to start hosting board game nights over at their Salford site, where they’ll be making the most of their large terrace with plenty of seating, which also has the added bonus of a retracted pergola – perfect for sunny days or simply sheltering from the Manc rain.

One thing we also noticed was just how many locals not only popped in throughout our time there, but the sheer number that had chosen to start their day at this particular spot.

There’s a regular Greek crowd, of course, but there’s also the native Salfordian and those currently residing in and around the up-and-coming area, who were pulling up in the large car park and taking a pew, or even those just looking for quick and top-quality grab-and-go stuff.

In fact, it’s one of the quickest venues we’ve seen fill up that fast in a hot, Med minute.

Speaking of, whether it be one of their superb Spanish lattes, or the equally sweet, sultry and viral ‘Freddo Cappuccino’, or their traditional spanakopita, not to mention their many Mediterranean pastry variations, there’s a big call for pretty much everything on the menu.

iced coffees saflord
greek places salford
juice places manchester
Credit: The Manc Eats

We could go on at length in listing what impressed us about just this one Coffee Rules branch, and we’ve made many trips to their Chorlton one in the past already, but it’s probably best that we just urge you to give it a try sometime soon. Trust us, you won’t be disappointed.

This is one of the fastest-growing franchises in the UK, and it’s no wonder they keep pulling in plaudits and invites to bigger and better industry within the industry as time goes on events over the past few years.

Oh, and one more thing, there’s plenty of savoury stuff that you’ll likely fall in love with, but we highly reccommend ordering the red velvet. Wow…

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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