Famous bakery Gail’s has confirmed that it will be expanding into the north of England for the first time, as owners reveal plans to open not one, not two but three new cafes in and around Manchester.
Already well known and loved by its customers in the south of England, now the team is eyeing up new sites for its neighbourhood craft bakeries right on our doorstep.
Having confirmed that the first northern location for Gail’s will open in Wilmslow this February, it has also been revealed that the bakery has its eye on two Greater Manchester locations: with a city centre bakery planned for the former White Stuff unit on King Street, and a third set to open on Shaw’s Road in Altrincham.
Whilst no official date has been set for the King Street and Altrincham openings, The Manc understands that these are both expected to open in the early part of 2023 – so we shouldn’t have too long to wait.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
The bakery group already has strong ties with Manchester, having run its sister wholesale bakery The Bread Factory – which supplies bread to some of Manchester’s premium restaurants, cafes and bars – in Openshaw since 2017.
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Now, it’s looking to add a customer-facing presence by bringing its popular coffee shop-style bakery-cafes to Greater Manchester for the very first time.
Here, Mancs will be able to get their hands on all manner of treats: from its range of sourdough breads (including a ‘wasteless’ loaf made with breadcrumb leftovers), to cakes, pastries, sandwiches and more.
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Gail’s CEO Tom Molnar told The Manc: “What an amazing city Manchester is, I mean it’s so creative – I’d love London to be as creative as Manchester is.
“We’re really excited about opening up in Manchester, we’ve been there for about six years now, is that right, um, when we bought this little tiny bakery that an older couple had.
“They’d had it for like 35 years, they were ready to retire, and we were like ‘oh that’s a great opportunity for us to go in’.
“We were trying to continue what they were doing a little bit but the whole idea was to um, to bring like, they were like an old school bakery, […] and they were ready to retire but it was a great space for us and since then we’ve added a bunch of units there and we’re serving chefs, because that’s what we know, that’s the core of the business, is to be serving top chefs.”
First formed in the early 1990s as a wholesale-only operation, Gail’s opened its first cafe on Hampstead High Street in 2005.
Today the brand has over 70 sites spread across London, Oxford, Brighton and further afield, and is known more as a customer-facing cafe and bakery whilst The Bread Factory continues the company’s original wholesale legacy.
All its goodies are baked fresh throughout the day, with any unsold items donated to local charities each evening to help local people in need. When Gail’s opens in the north later this year, it will partner with Fare Share and Eat Well Manchester to give back to its new neighbours wherever possible.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
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Salford Red Devils have been dropped from the Super League
Danny Jones
Salford Red Devils RLFC have been officially relegated and dropped from the next Betfred Super League season following months of uncertainty both on and off the field.
It’s a nightmare scenario for supporters, but not entirely surprising given their struggles of late.
Revealing the decision this week, the Super League announced that Salford Red Devils will not be competing in the top tier next term, with the upcoming adjusted campaign getting underway in 2026.
Confirming that their IMG grading had been reduced as expected in the wake of recent events, the Greater Manchester side shared an official statement with the fans on Thursday morning, 16 October.
The reaction has obviously been one of deep frustration from a fan base that has been put through the ringer over the past year or so.
Die-hard Red Devil, Andy Roberts, commented in the numerous replies underneath Salford’s post on X: “I’m sorry, but this statement is a complete disgrace. Patronising fans, ignoring the huge elephant in the room. RELEGATION!”
Even neutrals got involved, with one person writing: “I hope someone comes in and saves you. No gloating here, we’re all part of the RL [rugby league] family, and I’ve lost my club before – wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Best of luck getting sorted.”
Another added that he believes this “Has to be the worst piece of comms from any club ever. Might have been better to start with a ‘really sorry we won’t be part of Super League next season’ line.”
Most notably, their dismissal from the division for now has also made way for the return of Bradford Bulls, who haven’t featured in the tournament since 2014, ultimately limping towards liquidation and eventual relegation themselves. Safe to say Salfordians fear the same.
It’s also worth noting that Salford Red Devils’ relegation also comes in tandem with the Super League actually expanding in terms of participants, with 14 teams set to face off in 2026; a dozen are automatically included via the aforementioned gradings system.
The Bulls were restored to the ranks after finishing 10th in the overall IMG rankings, while SRDLFC’s 0.25 point reduction to their total score proved enough to see the Yorkshiremen take their place after more than a decade.
Another two of clubs are still waiting to be named in the roster for next year, with an independent selection panel scheduled to verify their picks this Friday, 17 October.
You can see the club’s ‘divisive’ (to say the least) statement in full HERE and, in the meantime, find out more on the latest twist in this unfortunate tale that went on somewhat behind the scenes down below.
Featured Images — Fleets (via Wikimedia Commons)/Salford Red Devils
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A very wholesome record was seemingly smashed by a group of runners at the Manchester Half
Danny Jones
It’s been a few days since the 2025 Manchester Half, and news of personal bests and records being matched/broken continues to flood in, but nothing quite beats the fastest caterpillar EVER getting themselves in the Guinness book.
Yes, we did say caterpillar.
In case you have no idea what we’re talking about (it’s pretty much what it says on the tin), a caterpillar refers to when multiple runners stick themselves in a daft bit of fancy dress and race in a line while joined together in a suit that looks like, well, you get the gist…
Fun and wholesome in itself, right? Indeed, better still, though, it appears as though this particular group of fundraisers not only completed this year’s Manchester Half-marathon with the added challenge of running behind one another in a caterpillar outfit, but have just smashed the Guinness World Record.
As you can see, the four top blokes – Matthew Athersmith, Eddie Evans, Andrew Cairns and Jimmy Craig – didn’t just get the 13.1-mile feat completed quickly; they were absolutely RAPID.
The 2025 MCR Half saw plenty of people breaching the 90-minute mark or going even faster, but we were not expecting to see the familiar caterpillar fancy dress sight finishing in 1:14:08.
Utterly ridiculous, boys.
Other notable bits of history made, besides the largest ever crowd of 28k racers and more than £1.6 million raised for different charities, included runner Sophie Godley smashing the women’s record for the fastest time while carrying (*checks notes*) 13 golf clubs. Silly and inspiring – like it.
Although they’re still waiting for full confirmation from the official Guinness World Records organisation, the Manchester Half media team seemingly verified that they beat the previous caterpillar half-marathon record by nearly 15 whole minutes.
Dubbing themselves ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, the group of mates from Skipton in North Yorkshire ran in memory of one of Matthew’s friends, Darren, who sadly died back in 2022.
Speaking to the BBC following the remarkable achievement, Matt said: “Darren was so loved by everyone; we just didn’t know what was going on beneath the surface.”
Applauding the “unbelievable” and incredibly uplifting atmosphere on the day, they were one of many participants who added on extra caveats to the already impressive fitness and fundraising challenge.
It was nevertheless an emotional day for all of them. For instance, one quarter of the caterpillar, Jimmy, also had a heavily pregnant wife waiting at home that he had to race back to.
Generating money for male mental health organisation and suicide prevention charity, Andy’s Man Club (AMC), which has continued to grow year on year, they went on to add: “It’s OK to talk, and people shouldn’t suffer in silence. We all would have tried to help.”
Andy’s Man Club outposts are popping up all over the place, including many here in Greater Manchester, so for anyone struggling, please know that you are NOT alone and can always speak to someone. If you’re interested in giving AMC a go, you can find your nearest support group HERE.
Last but not least, for those of you local to the region who are ready to reward yourselves now that the big runs are all said and done, look no further.
Calling all Manchester runners: if you've boxed off all your races for the year, it's time to reward yourself properly – with a boogie, of course 🪩💃
Georgina Pellant -
19th January 2023 
