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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
Radcliffe man, 76, jailed after sexually abusing young teenage girls more than 40 years ago
Emily Sergeant
A man who sexually abused two teenage girls more than 40 years ago has been put behind bars.
After two brave women came forward and disclosed to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) the abuse they endured more than four decades ago, Kenneth Goodman, of Greendale Drive in Radcliffe, was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14 years, and three counts of gross indecency with a girl also under the age of 14.
Both victims knew Goodman in a ‘professional capacity’, police explained, and were in their early teenage years at the time of the abuse.
The first survivor approached GMP in 2018 to report the abuse Goodman subjected her to, and then this subsequent investigation then led officers to identifying a second survivor who confirmed she had been in a sexual relationship with Goodman as a teenager.
The first woman was subjected to abuse on numerous occasions when she was around Goodman – with him making inappropriate comments to her and coercing her into sexual activity when they were alone together.
The second woman was groomed over a period of around three years, with Goodman initially manipulating her at the age of 12 into being in a relationship with him and engaging in sexual activity.
Goodman told the victim that as she had turned 13, they could ‘go further with their intimacy’, before the abuse continued until around the time the victim was 15.
Following his arrest in 2019, Goodman denied the offences, but a jury found him guilty at a trial in March earlier this year.
He will serve six years in prison and has been placed on the sex offender’s register for life.
Speaking following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Jonathan McGregor, from GMP’s Serious Crime Division, said: “This has been an ongoing investigation and the victims have shown incredible strength and patience throughout the process.
“I would firstly like to express my gratitude to them, as their support during this investigation has led to the conviction and sentencing of Goodman.
“This was an awful case about abuse of power. Goodman took advantage of these women from such a young age, and they have carried this with them since.
“I hope this sentence can now provide them with a sense of comfort and reassurance that no matter how long it has been, we will always take reports of this nature seriously, and we will do everything we can to ensure perpetrators see justice.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Local music student issues appeal over stolen saxophones just months after graduation
Danny Jones
A local music student has issued a heartbreaking appeal after two of his saxophones, one of which possessed a deep sentimental attachment, were stolen in Manchester not long after graduating from his degree.
Conor Parker-Delves, who only recently finished his undergrad degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, has dreams of performing professionally, but a sad twist of fate now means that he’s currently without the key tool he needs to make a living.
Having worked so hard up to this point in completing his studies, the 22-year-old was left gutted when the pair of extremely valuable instruments were stolen from his car after parking it in the Longsight area.
The still green graduate believes the items were originally kept at an address just south of Whitworth Park, along with some of his other stolen belongings, which he says were nearly resold on the high street in Moss Side.
Credit: Handouts (via Conor Parker-Delves)
What’s more is that one of these saxes belonged to his late granddad on his mother’s side, who sadly died when he was very young, and he’s been proudly playing it throughout his childhood. A gut-wrenching loss not just for him but for his family.
Speaking to The Manc, he said: “I have played on that sax ever since his passing and have kept the legacy alive. Losing this sax means losing him, and I am going to fight against this as hard as I can for as long as I can.”
A worn silver Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone (serial number: 240580) and a tenor sax of the same brand (SN: 91928) are estimated to be worth a combined £12,000 – funds a fresh graduate like Conor simply doesn’t have.
Given the connection to his grandad, it’s safe to say that he’s not ready to give up and say goodbye to the priceless heirloom, and being stuck without any means of playing is just cruel.
Unfortunately, Greater Manchester Police have already closed the case despite a “promising lead” that looks to have been exhausted, and now he’s been left with no other option than to issue a renewed appeal to the public.
It may only be a slim chance, but the London-born aspiring musician is hoping that the woodwind duo can be recovered, acknowledging that it is “much easier for the saxes to be handed in if they are come across” rather than be replaced.
Things are hard enough for artists these days as it is, especially those who have already spent their time and money uprooting their lives and moving to a big new city like Manchester.
We encourage anyone with any potentially useful information to get in touch and/or report to GMP online, via the non-emergency 101 number, or get in touch with Crimestoppers anonymously.
Fingers crossed we can get the tools of Conor’s craft and his grandfather’s before him back safe and sound – can you help?
Georgina Pellant -
5th January 2022 
