A new Joy Division-inspired bar has opened in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, taking over the old Walrus site on High Street.
Featuring a mural of Ian Curtis by local street artist Akse P-19 and a menu of Asian fusion food with a decidedly Mancunian twist, the space has been completely transformed since its heyday as Walrus.
With restaurant-style seating in front and a speakeasy-meets-nightclub vibe downstairs, new opening Disorder (a nod to the opening track of Joy Division’s seminal album Unknown Pleasures) is the brainchild of longtime Stockport friends James Stewart and Sam Koropisz.
It reminds us of the glory days of Northern Quarter bars, how they used to be maybe ten years ago – in the very best way with drinks and food upstairs and a party waiting to happen down below.
The new green-tiled bar has been shortened to make room for a new snug in the back corner, with sunken Chesterfields in the front windows looking out onto the High Street and a green neon sign nodding to Joy Division’s 1979 album Unknown Pleasures.
The Ian Curtis mural inside Disorder. / Image: The Manc Eats
Owners and longtime Stockport friends James Stewart and Sam Koropisz. / Image: The Manc Eats
As for the drinks, Disorder boasts 10 beer lines with a range of different options on draught and in bottles, as well as a large collection of whiskeys, sake, gin and more.
On the beer list you’ll find lagers and sour beers from local Manchester breweries and established global ones – including DEYA, Schöfferhofer, Guinness, Delirium and Cloudwater, whilst cocktails continue the pan Asian theme with drinks like the Japanese Slipper.
The food menu, meanwhile, features items like Japanese sandos made with black pudding, chicken katsu, pickled watermelon, and fried chicken with PB&J, with sides like kimchi crispy noodle salad, smoked togarashi corn ribs and chicken and oyster mushroom karaage.
Elsewhere, you’ll find skewers loaded with the likes of smoked lamb merguez sausage, mushroom bulgogi, chicken yakitori and pineapple and gochujang tofu, and tostadas with ahi watermelon, smoked cauliflower, chicken karaage, tomago and kimchi.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Underground, a huge DJ booth and club space will welcome in local artists. with an opening weekend set to play host to Manchester legends Bez and Rowetta as well as a live brass band.
Opening in Manchester this weekend, the new bar will be open until late going until 4am on the weekends. To find out more, visit its social media pages here.
News
Greater Manchester Mayors deliver update on Salford Red Devils situation
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham revealed details from the minutes of his meeting with the Rugby Football League (RFL) over the August bank holiday, sharing key updates from the crucial sit-down in hopes of securing the future of Salford Red Devils.
The Mayor and his Salford counterpart, Paul Dennett, met with chief executive Tony Sutton and other key RFL figures to discuss the ongoing crisis at Salford Red Devils, who remain on the brink of collapse.
Supporters marched on the streets of 0161’s second city in the immediate aftermath, expressing their dismay at the continuing struggles both behind the scenes and off the pitch, and Burnham was quick to call a meeting with the RFL as a result. The fans have remained in full voice throughout.
Posting a joint statement on social media, the pair wrote: “We would like to take the opportunity to thank the RFL and clubs across the Super League for their ongoing commitment to assist Salford Red Devils in fulfilling all other fixtures and get the club to the end of the season.
“Following that meeting, we have requested a meeting this Friday with the Jacobsen Management Group, the current owners, to discuss our serious concerns over the future of the club.
“The impending HMRC court hearing, the failure to meet tax obligations, the delay in payment of wages, and the lack of financial investment have resulted in a complete loss of confidence in the ownership among fans and the wider Salford and rugby community.”
Stating that “Salford Red Devils [still] face an uncertain future”, leading fan group The 1873 confessed that while it has been seen as a “welcome step”, it nevertheless “felt short of reassurance and commitment we’d hoped for.”
In short, they said: “We will no longer sit back while the club we love is reduced to a shell by those who do not speak to us, do not listen, and do not understand what Salford means.” They also called out the somewhat one foot in, one foot out ownership group and so-called current ‘stewards’ of the club directly.
You can read their response in full down below.
Yesterday’s statement from Andy Burnham & Paul Dennett is a welcome step, but not the one Salford fans wanted.
It felt short of reassurance and commitment we’d hoped for.
The future of the club and community deserves more.
Furthermore, Burnham and Dennett went on to add: “Following discussions between the parties involved, there is clear agreement that Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Salford City Council and the Rugby Football League are resolute in their commitment to safeguard the club.
“We are committed to working together to secure the long-term future of the club, to implement a city-wide rugby strategy, and to honour the generations of players, supporters, and communities who have carried its spirit through more than 150 years of rugby league.”
What about you, Salford Red Devils fans – what did you make of both statements, and how hopeful are you that the storm will clear around the club?
Plans to expand Greater Manchester’s tram network progress after £6m funding boost
Emily Sergeant
Plans for new tram and train connections across Greater Manchester have taken a big step forward after a £6m funding boost.
Last month, Mayor Andy Burnham and local council leaders pledged for 90% of people in Greater Manchester to be within a five-minute walk of a bus or tram that comes at least every 30 minutes by 2030 – and now, plans to deliver this strategy are one step closer to becoming reality thanks to significant investment.
Transport leaders have now confirmed a pipeline of ‘rapid transit’ schemes for the future.
£6 million of funding was signed-off by the Bee Network Committee earlier last week, following plans being discussed by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
The work is all part of a wider plan, known as the Greater Manchester Strategy, to link every borough in Greater Manchester up the Metrolink network – with a long-term plan for major expansion of the Bee Network.
Plans to expand Greater Manchester’s tram network have progressed after a £6m funding boost / Credit: TfGM
Some of the major projects this £6m funding will pay for advancing planning towards include finalising strategies for extending the Metrolink to Stockport from East Didsbury this autumn, with construction to begin in 2030, and beginning strategy work on the completion of the Metrolink Airport Line ‘Western Leg’ – which would serve a number of ‘key growth areas’ at the Airport, Wythenshawe Hospital, and Davenport Green.
Another important project the funding will go towards is the preparation of the Strategic Outline Case for expanding Metrolink connections to Salford Crescent and Salford Quays, and out to the north west of the region – including potential options for links to Leigh, Wigan, and Bolton.
Work will also continue on plans for an Oldham-Rochdale-Heywood-Bury tram-train route too – with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says its leaders are aiming for construction on the scheme to begin in 2028.
Mayor Andy Burnham says the funding with help connect all 10 boroughs to the Metrolink / Credit: TfGM
“This latest funding means we can develop the case for a pipeline of both tram and tram-train new lines and extensions – and ultimately underground infrastructure in the city centre – to make sure we get a public transport system befitting the global city region we are.”
Georgina Pellant -
15th February 2023 
