Award-winning pie company Great North Pie is opening a pie and mash cafe in Manchester this year.
Set to arrive on the cobbles of Little David Street in spring, the cafe will be the first to move into the long-forgotten avenue as it is brought back to life this year by the developers behind KAMPUS.
Putting some modern touches on the traditional pie and mash cafe, Great North Pie will serve up all the traditional favourites like classic Lancashire cheese and onion, roast chicken and mushroom, and 14 hour braised beef and ale alongside a regularly-changing selection of seasonal specials.
Smoked haddock, salmon and fish sauce pie / Image: Great North Pie Company Steak and kidney steamed suet pudding, mash, roast onion and brown sauce gravy / Image: Great North Pie Company
Previous specials at other Great North Pie cafes have included a macaroni and cheese pie, various fish pies (a favourite being the smoked mackerel, horseradish and mustard pie), a steak and kidney steam suet pudding, and a corned beef and potato pie.
As for sides with your pies, think lashings of gravy, signature mushy peas with mascarpone, and plenty of buttery mash.
Alongside a great selection of hand-crafted pies, diners will also find a full drinks menu celebrating local brewers and distillers – with the option to choose a matching beer or glass of prosecco to go with their chosen dish.
Seating will be available inside and out, with a covered outdoor patio stretching out onto the cobbles and looking over both the Bridgewater canal and Kampus garden.
Husband and wife team Neil and Sarah Broomfield started Great North Pie ten years ago, making pies in their home kitchen for local farmers markets.
The business is now one of the North West’s success stories with cafes in Altrincham and Ambleside in the Lake District. The pair also act as judges for the Great British Pie Awards and were recently named as finalists in Radio 4’s Food & Farming Awards.
Co-owner and pie-maker Neil said that both he and Sarah had always wanted a base in the city centre, it was simply a matter of finding the right place – and now it seems that they have.
Image: Great North Pie Company Image: Great North Pie Company
“It had to be somewhere intimate and cosy and Kampus really nails that laid back vibe.,” he said.
Promising “great northern pies and mash, with loads of gravy”, he says they’ll be keeping things simple at the new cafe and are looking forward to being part of an independent community with the “mix of independent traders that are coming.”
Little David street, which is part of the Kampus neighbourhood being developed by HBD and Capital&Centric, is thought to be one of the only untouched cobbled streets in Manchester.
Development plans for the street see it set to become a hub of bars, cafes, shops and restaurants – with Great North Pie expected to be the first arrival of many.
The Macaroni pie special from Great North Pie Company / Image: Great North Pie Company
Adam Brady, HBD said: “Great North Pie is something of an institution when it comes to pie and mash and it’s amazing to welcome them to the Kampus community.
“They’re the first to sign up at Little David Street which will have cafes, bars and shops all spilling out onto the beautiful cobbles,giving it an almost European feel.
It’s exciting to see how the Kampus neighbourhood is growing, whether you live here or not there’ll be something for everyone, and there’s lots more to come. There’s really going to be nowhere else like it in the city.”
Great North Pie is the latest name to join Kampus which, with the likes of Nell’s, General Store, Pollen and Beeswing also signed up, is fast becoming a hub for local foodie independents.
Kampus’ is a mix of old and new, with developers having made use of historic buildings that have lain derelict for years.
It sits right next to the famous Canal Street in Manchester’s Gay Village and is just minutes from Piccadilly Station.
Feel Good Club becomes Manchester’s latest independent cafe to announce ‘heartbreaking’ closure
Emily Sergeant
Manchester mental health cafe Feel Good Club is the latest independent to sadly announce it’ll be closing its doors for good.
You may know the Feel Good Club from the success of its wellbeing-focused cafe which opened in the heart of the Northern Quarter in October 2020, where it has since been brewing up quality coffee, serving all-day brunch full of all your favourite comfort foods, and hosting regular events to bring the Manchester community together.
The Feel Good Club movement actually started humblyas an Instagram page filled with uplifting messages and top tips, however, by founders Kiera and Aimie Lawlor-Skillen.
The carefully-curated social media page aimed at normalising the stigma around mental health and has since flourished into a successful platform of 530,000+ followers, and has led the pair to being able to release their own book, clothing lines, start a podcast, and so much more.
But the upcoming closure of its Northern Quarter cafe next month is one that will hit Manchester hard, amid a growing number of independent businesses struggling to stay afloat.
Feel Good Club has announced the closure of its Manchester cafe / Credit: The Manc Group
Taking to Instagram yesterday to announce the closure, Feel Good Club wrote: “We’re absolutely gutted to have to deliver this message but, just weeks before our fifth birthday, our venue in Northern Quarter will be closing on the 23 September.
“We’ve spent the past 12+ months seeing some of our favourite venues in the city closing around us, and whilst we’ve been trying to do everything in our power not to, it’s felt like an inevitability that we’ve been unable to escape, and we’ll sadly be joining the list of some incredible places that have been lost to the current hospitality crisis.
“Holding on any longer would mean risking letting down our team and suppliers, and they come first here.
The Northern Quarter cafe opened its doors in October 2020 / Credit: The Manc Group
“We’ve poured every part of ourselves, our lives. and energy into the physical venue of Feel Good Club.
“We’ve loved, we’ve lost, and we’ve had some of the best moments of our lives in that space, joined by friends, family, and the chosen family we have met along the way. From the cabarets and dancing on tables, to the weddings, the markets, the protests, the music, the memorials, and the real, raw, and important conversations.
“We’d like to thank everyone who has brought their visions to life in the club.”
Founders Kiera and Aimie then went on to thank every single visitor who’s ever come through the doors of their cafe, as well as all the staff who have worked there over the years, and ultimately, everyone who has supported them on their journey.
They also made sure to add that ‘this is not the end for Feel Good Club’ and that they are actively looking for pop-up opportunities to keep the community alive.
“We will continue to be exactly what it always has been – a safe corner of the internet for everyone and anyone that needs it,” their statement concluded.
Feel Good Club will close its doors in the Northern Quarter on Tuesday 23 September 2025, so make sure you go and show them some love before then.
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If you or anyone you know is struggling right now, please know that you are never alone and there are many different places you can reach out to for support right here in Greater Manchester.
Suffering in silence never need be the way.
Manchester Mind – An organisation that has supported people in Manchester for over 30 years. Most services are now available over the phone, by email or video call. The number is 0161 769 5732 and the opening hours are Mon to Fri, 10am-2pm.
The GM Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust– The local NHS helpline is open 24/7 which you can call any time, day or night, if you feel your mental health is beginning to suffer: 0800 953 0285.
Andy’s Man Club – A group dedicated to starting conversations about mental health, assuring people that it’s ok to talk. You can contact them by email on: [email protected].
CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably supports people via phone and webchat. You can call 0800 58 58 58 or speak to a support worker online. Open 5pm to midnight.
Samaritans – The Manchester & Salford Samaritans offer emotional support by telephone and email. The phone lines and email support are available 24/7. Call 116 123 or visit the website.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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?
Georgina Pellant -
5th January 2022 
