Liverpool favourite Bold Street Coffee has revealed plans to open a second site in Manchester, just three months after launching its first on Cross Street.
Now firmly settled in the city centre, the award-winning speciality coffee brand is branching out to the University campus – taking over a new site at Manchester’s University Green.
The new opening at University Green will be the fourth site for the brand in the North West, with two well-established coffee shops in Liverpool already.
Image: Bold Street Coffee
With an outside terrace area and room for up to 80 covers inside, it will serve up speciality coffees roasted in house alongside an all-day selection of pastries, breakfast items, sandwiches and more.
And just like the other BSC sites, the new opening will be dog and family-friendly with Babaccino and Puppaccinos available.
With independent guest roasters on rotation alongside an in-house range of BSC’s own coffee beans, caffeine lovers can choose a coffee to suit their preferred flavour profile and style – with flat whites, iced lattes, filters and americanos all on offer.
Hand-picked by baristas and roasted specifically for BSC, alongside a selection of sixteen different coffees on the menu you can also purchase everything you need to make your perfect brew at home – from aeropress, Chemex and V60s, to filters and pour-over kettles.
The only thing they don’t seem to sell (from the looks of things anyway) is a grinder and scale – however, you can ask one of the team to grind your beans to your own specifications when you pick up a bag (priced from £8).
When it opens in September, customers can expect top-quality brews alongside all-day breakfast, lunch and brunch dishes – ranging from full on fry ups to butties, an ‘on toast’ section, wholesome bowls and more.
But the really special dish here has to be the buoys – a Bold Street Coffee signature comprised of scrambled egg with melted cheese inside a lightly toasted brioche bun.
Essentially a breakfast burger, they’re priced from £5.95 for the most basice edition. You can then add in sausage patties, hash browns, bacon, avocado, mushroom, scrambled tofu, aubergine patties and more from a list of different variations, depending on what sort of mood you’re in.
There are vegan buoys, veggie buoys, and even a bad bouy (brioche bun, sausage patty, fried egg, cheese, avocado and hollondaise) if you’re feeling naughty.
Elsewhere, you’ll find porridge, ‘super’ porridge, ‘Gaz’s granola’, vegan and veggie-friendly sandwiches, an ‘egg box’ section stufffed with the likes of granary toast, scrambled egg, melted cheese, avocado, tomato, bacon and sausages.
Let’s just say that Manchester’s students are in for a treat.
Speaking on the new opening, Matt Farrell, Director of Bold Street Coffee, said: “We’re delighted to announce our next project in Manchester. The transformation to the Oxford Road corridor in the last few years has been dramatic and the ever expanding, vibrant University makes this a diverse and exciting place to set up the next BSC after its opening success on Cross Street.
“We are pleased at GSG to be adding extra roots in the Manchester food and drink scene with more to follow later in the year. After such a difficult few years, there is an air of expectation around and I think this marks the start of an exciting time for the city, speciality coffee and Northern Hospitality.”
To keep up with Bold Street Coffee in Manchester, give them a follow on Instagram here.
Feature image – Bold Street Coffee
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The first new tenant of the old Debenhams department store on Market Street has been confirmed
Danny Jones
The first new resident of the Rylands Building on Market Street in central Manchester has been revealed, and it’s a foodie one.
Set to be the maiden opening inside the old Debenhams department store, which closed after more than three decades back in 2021, Rylands’ debut won’t be for another year or so, but it will soon welcome Mancs with an increasingly popular food hall operator making its way up north.
Simply called Market Place, the ever-growing brand is fast becoming a well-established name, with four venues in the capital already and a fifth coming soon.
Rylands will be their first location outside of London, and with 1,300 sqm of space at their disposal, Market Place Manchester is set to make a significant splash on the high street.
A look at Market Place Peckham.A rough idea of what the Manchester branch could look like.
Developers managed to green-light plans for the Grade II-listed building last November, sharing the first details and glimpses of their vision for the instantly recognisable city centre spot, including a whole new rooftop terrace.
Currently earmarked for a late 2026 launch, the former department store (previously Paulden’s) consisted of seven floors but is now set for a four-storey extension that promises to be a massive and varied retail, leisure and business destination that makes the most of the expansive structure.
Not to be confused with the famous John Rylands Library – a much older, more gothic, historic and hallowed hall over on Deansgate – this task of ‘revitalising a Manchester icon’, to quote property firm AM ALPHA, is a huge undertaking.
In charge of the redevelopment since 2023, the group have been outlining a pretty complete overhaul, with plans to convert the upper floors into premium office space, and the creation of a retail arcade at ground level, on which Market Place Manchester will sit.
This particular Manc corner was a bustling food, drink and shopping complex for the longest time, but has been derelict and covered up by boards for what feels like forever, with urban explorers even roaming the large, abandoned building.
Credit: Supplied
Now, though, the new long-term 15-year lease agreement will see the latest food hall kick off a new era for Rylands, delivering socially focused venues and the range of flavourful, vibrant choices of scran that Market Place have become known for.
With sites in St Paul’s, Vauxhall, Peckham, Harrow and soon Baker Street – as well as their eventual Manchester outpost, of course – the chain is getting bigger and better, meaning its arrival in the North West is an exciting one.
AM ALPHA manager Paul Hodgkiss said in an official statement: “Manchester is a city with a vibrant cultural scene – the perfect environment for forward-thinking concepts like Market Place Food Hall…
“The early commitment to Rylands is no coincidence: it reflects the strength of our strategic and forward-looking approach to development. We are not just creating high-quality space – we are setting new standards for urban mixed-use concepts. Interest from further prospective tenants is strong.”
It was only last week that Greater Manchester’s latest market hall, Campfield Studios, said hello to the general public and with House of Social also opening this summer, among several other similar projects, soon you won’t be able to move for more social hospitality scenes like this:
Manchester crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.
From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.
The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.
This summer is all set to be a sensational celebration of sound, as not only is an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, taking over the city from this week, but this year’s annual Manchester Day will be music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers / Credit: Manchester City Council | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)
Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park this month.
So it’s no surprise that Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers, especially as the IFPI Global Music Report has revealed that the UK has the third largest music market globally – with the music industry’s contribution to the UK economy being £6.7 billion on average.
Taking this recent report into consideration, the experts over at SeatPick have collated data to uncover the best UK cities for music lovers, analysing factors such as the number of concerts, homegrown talents, music businesses, and the total number of music venues, to reveal each city’s overall music score out of 10.
Coming in at second place with a music scene score of 8.97/10 is Manchester.
2025 is all set to be a sensational summer of sound in our city / Credit: Supplied
“Manchester remains one of the UK’s most iconic music cities and with 1,204 concerts between 2025-2026, 116 live music venues, and 380 homegrown acts, the city’s live music offering is as strong as ever,” SeatPick said of its findings.
“2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for Manchester, with Oasis reuniting for the first time in over a decade, with a massive comeback show at Heaton Park – the very spot where they played their last hometown gig in 2009.”
While Manchester may have missed out on the UK’s top spot, with that title going to London, in the global rankings, our city has claimed an impressive sixth place, beating out New York’s influential music scene.
Liverpool and Leeds are two of the other northern cities in the UK’s top 10, taking fifth and sixth place respectively.
“Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city’s cultural, economic, and social vibrancy,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick.
“A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape, as well as attracting creative talent.”
Georgina Pellant -
16th March 2022 
