Christmas market favourite Panc is opening a new street food stall in the heart of Manchester, taking over the former Salt and Pepper unit at the Arndale Market.
Having impressed vegans and non-vegans alike with their naturally-coloured buns, plant-based burgers and bratwursts at last year’s Christmas markets, chefs Ariane Cardoso and Hannah Jobe are now gearing up to open a new space in the city centre.
Here, Panc fans will be able to find all their savoury favourites as well as a range of sweet desserts under the new banner Yum Yum.
Splitting the stall into two, Panc and Yum Yum will each be housed in their own individual sections – one serving up tasty vegan ‘junk’ food like kebabs, burgers, loaded fries, hot dogs and ‘chick’n’, the other focusing exclusively on milkshakes and desserts.
Yum Yum will boast a brand new vegan soft serve machine, bringing plant-based ice cream to the Arndale market for the very first time alongside Panc’s popular churros, loaded PANCakes and Belgian waffles.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Panc already offers a ‘Sweet Tingz’ section on its dark kitchen Deliveroo menu, but now they’ll be bringing the sweet-tooth offering to life in a new way with its very own stall – as well as maintaining their busy dark kitchen operation alongside.
Open at the market until 6pm throughout the week, they’ll then carry on cooking into the evening from their kitchen in Ardwick – with full menus available to either collect or order for delivery at both sites.
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It’s an exciting new development for Ariane and Hannah, who first started cooking during lockdown over in Gatley before they got an opportunity to be in the Christmas markets
Since closing their Piccadilly Gardens stall at the start of January, the pair have been serving customers from Salford to Fallowfield from their base at Ghost Kitchens in Ardwick.
Image: The Manc Eats
Speaking on the journey of their business up to this point, Hannah told The Manc: “We got an opportunity to be in the Christmas markets, and we were like ‘oh we really want to be in the city centre'”,
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“Ariane sent me a message in the lockdown and just said are you working, I said no I’m on furlough, alright let’s open a business and we did!”
Before that, both had worked in hospitality for some time. Hannah was a Business Development Manager selling coffee, whilst Ariane – a vegan cook for many years – was managing Brazilian steakhouse Bem Brasil, having opened sites in Northern Quarter, Deansgate and Liverpool for the group.
Panc proved a huge hit with both vegans and meat-eaters alike at the 2021 Manchester Christmas Markets. / Image: Panc Foods
Despite their success at the Manchester Christmas Markets, both said that they felt they had to start from scratch when they arrived in Ardwick – adding that Deliveroo helped them to do a lot of marketing to introduce themselves to their new customer base.
Now they’re taking another step forward – bringing the tried-and-tested dessert arm of their dark kitchen business out into the world under a brand new name.
Tipped to open in the Arndale Market any day now. keep an eye on Panc’s socials for more updates ahead of their launch.
Feature image – PancFoods / The Manc Eats
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Passengers warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Bus services across Greater Manchester will be disrupted later this weekend as drivers from two companies stage strike action.
In what is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has had confirmation that staff from two operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will go ahead with further planned strikes this weekend.
If this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who were employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – each of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – walked out in a number of co-ordinated strikes earlier this month amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union said each of the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
In this case, Unite has confirmed that drivers at First have called off further action after voting to accept a revised pay offer.
Passengers are being warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend / Credit: TfGM
However, both Stagecoach and Metroline staff have opted to proceed with strike action onFriday 10 October, Saturday 11 October, and Monday 13 October.
This means that around 190 services, including some dedicated school buses, will not run on strike days, and TfGM is therefore advising everyone to ‘check before they travel’ and allow extra time to make their journey.
Bus services in Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are not expected to run, and some services in South Manchester, parts of the city centre, and Rochdale will also be impacted.
Many bus services will continue to run ‘as usual’, however, and this includes services such as the Free Bus in Manchester city centre, as well as the majority of buses in Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Wigan.
The strikes are the latest in an ongoing dispute over pay / Credit: TfGM
“While we are pleased that planned industrial action by First staff has been called off, we encourage Stagecoach, Metroline, and Unite to continue discussions to avert further strike action,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.
“We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and support them to make journeys wherever possible. We encourage everyone to check the latest status of their service before they travel, leave plenty of time for their journey and to get in touch if they have any questions.”
Unite has indicated that further industrial action will also happen on Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October.
This action could still take place, if pay negotiations are not concluded.
Featured Image – TfGM
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First vendors confirmed Glossop Market Hall, including two indie Manc traders
Danny Jones
The first vendors for the upcoming Glossop Market Hall have been announced, and the lineup includes two beloved Greater Manchester independent businesses.
Better still, the third is another noteworthy name from the North West.
Glossop Market Hall is scheduled to launch later this year, setting up shop in the historic town hall complex, where the High Peak Borough Council, a retail shopping arcade and various other municipal buildings have stood in various different iterations for nearly well over a century.
With the Derbyshire town set to celebrate the opening of the newly revamped market hall, those behind the new Glossop attraction have now revealed the first three names set to take up residence there.
As you can see, the biggest names already signed on to cook from one of the six kitchens is a Manchester favourite food hall in its own right: Hello Oriental.
The Pan-Asian paradise not only has a subterranean space below Circle Square, but also at The Trafford Centre, as well as a dessert spin-off in Freight Island.
Indie trader number two comes in the form of B&V Trading, who are based at Stanley Square in Sale and specialise in eco-friendly, UK-made treats, toys and essentials for four-legged friends.
After proving a hit with the locals, their small stall at nearby Altrincham Market has grown to see them open up not just a second site in the leafy Cheshire suburbs of Knutsford back in 2022, but now boast a third location in neighbouring Macclesfield.
Speaking of Macc, local gin and whisky makers, Forest Distillery – based up at the famous Cat and Fiddle Inn pub towards the Peaks – they round out the first wave of regional businesses set to pop up in Glossop Market Hall (GMH) when it finally arrives this winter.
And once again, as the update on social media reads: “This is just the beginning”.
Natives, day-trippers and tourists from all over are bound to visit this place when it opens sometime in November (exact date still TBC), and with space not only for a dedicated bar, dining space and a coffee shop, but a total of 17 retail spaces, we can’t wait to see what comes next.
GMH becomes just the latest among a growing trend of food and drink halls popping up all over our part of the country, with virtually every Greater Manchester borough now boasting at least one of their own – or, in the city centre’s case, what feels like a dozen now.
Exhibit number… not sure, we’ve lost track at this point.
Georgina Pellant -
27th June 2022 
