Track brewery’s taproom has just welcomed the return of Rise pizza pop-up – a one-man flatbread operation that’s got us all excited again about (probably) one of the most over-saturated areas of the takeaway market.
Sam Astley-Dean is a Michelin-trained chef. He’s worked at top London restaurants Chez Bruce and Elystan Street and 5-star luxury hotels Claridge’s and The Chester Grosvenor, and now he’s here to cure our pizza fatigue.
Image: The Manc Eats
After years spent cooking in high-end kitchens, he’s switched his chef whites for jeans and a tshirt as he applies his skills to his new project, Rise – the one-man pizza pop-up that’s been quietly blowing the minds of beer lovers at taprooms and pubs across Greater Manchester.
Founded on the principles of natural, organic and ethical produce, Rise has only been going for a year – but Sam’s already making his mark on local foodies with various pop-ups in Salford Quays, Stockport, Levenshulme and more.
This month, he’s back at Track every Friday and Saturday between the hours of 3-9pm (or from 12pm on Saturdays) slinging out a choice of six different sourdough pizzas – or Pi’s, as he likes to call them.
Choices include the Cacio e Pepe, taking the classic cheese and pepper pasta dish and popping it on a pi with an added dash of fresh lemon, and the bright green OGB (Organic Garlic Butter) topped with slow-roasted garlic, parsley, lemon, mozzarella, parmesan and lemon.
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Elsewhere, you’ll find The Rebel, combining organic tomatoes with pepperoni, fior di latte and parmesan, and the Do Ya?, a simple and delicious combination of just four ingredients – tomatoes, spicy Calabrian sausage paste, mascarpone and parmesan.
Sam also does a classic margarita, which is made with burrata, and a vegan version with organic tomato, plant-based mozzarisella and prosociano.
Feature image – The Manc Group
Manchester
A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Peter Kay at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Bolton-born comedian and entertainer Peter Kay is performing the final leg of his current UK arena tour with a series of charity shows.
Throughout his career, Kay has written and starred in various TV shows including Phoenix Nights, Max And Paddy’s Road To Nowhere and Peter Kay’s Car Share.
Alongside this, the Greater Manchester comedian has played a variety of arena shows across the UK, including at Manchester’s very own AO Arena with the likes of ‘Mum Wants a Bungalow Tour’ and the first raft of ‘Better Late Than Never’.
The latter came after the whole Co-op Live delays, if you can remember that.
And who can forget his successful venture as a recording artist collaborating with Tony Christie on ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’ or alter-ego Geraldine’s string of singles ‘The Winner’s Song’ and ‘Once Upon A Christmas Song’? But let’s be honest, he’s back doing his garlic* bread and butter.
Gig guide | Peter Kay at AO Arena, Manchester
Credit: Press shots (supplied)/This Morning (screenshot via YouTube)
Peter Kay UK tour dates
Fri 24 July – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
Sat 25 July – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 7 August – London, UK – The O2
Sat 8 August – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
And then, of course, we also have his slate of other charity shows set to be played back in his hometown at the famous Albert Halls – for which he recently added even more dates.
Are there any tickets left for Peter Kay at AO Arena?
Peter Kay is coming to Manchester city centre on Saturday 8 August, and luckily there’s a handful of tickets still up for grabs, although we expect this event to sell out. Tickets are available HERE.
And, the money from the tickets you purchase will be split between the 12 charities that the British comedy hero has chosen, such as Children With Cancer UK, Teenage Cancer Trust, Breast Cancer UK and more.
What are the stage times for Peter Kay in Manchester?
Anyone heading to the ‘Better Late Than Never; The Final Show’ can expect doors to open from 6pm with Peter Kay set to take to stage at 8pm.
Kicking off the night prompt and early, there’s no warm-up act; instead, the 53-year-old gives fans a usual interval between the first and second half of the show.
Simple as that.
AO Arena has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning you can laugh your socks off and still get tucked up under the covers before the clock hits midnight.
Getting to AO Arena
Tram
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station, and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
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A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces, including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
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Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
The Last ̶D̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ Laugh*
It’s been well publicised that these will be the local comedy legend’s final ever live stand-up comedy shows, and while it still feels hard to believe, the time has now come upon us and we’re starting to accept that this really might be goodbye.
So, with that being said, if this is farewell, all we can say is thanks for the memories, the giggles, iconic quotes, and for all the smiles you put on faces up and down the country over the past few decades.
Georgina Pellant -
30th June 2022 
