One of Manchester’s best-loved ice cream brands, Lazy Sundae, has announced the permanent closure of Northern Quarter site.
Opening its doors on Tib Street back in May 2021, and bringing sunshine and colour to the heart of the Northern Quarter, Lazy Sundae became beloved dessert spot along the way, famed not only for its adventurous ice cream flavours, but also it selection of bubble teas, and jiggly Japanese souffle pancakes.
Having proved so popular since opening the Northern Quarter site, Lazy Sundae went from strength to strength, and was soon able to open a second site.
The closure of Lazy Sundae’s original site was announced on the same day that another iconic Manchester burger joint, Almost Famous, sadly shared that it was also closing all of its sites in Manchester – both in the Northern Quarter, as well as inside Great Northern Warehouse – and Leeds with immediate effect.
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Lazy Sundae’s statement reads in full: “With a heavy heart, we have to share that Lazy Sundae has closed its doors on our NQ site. The reasons were beyond our control after facing landlord difficulties.
“Northern Quarter is where our dreams of sharing travel inspired ice cream with everyone was born. We remember the days running up to the grand opening post lockdown were filled with both excitement and anxiety.
“At one point, J was convinced no one would even like ice cream, but the Manchester community really showed up for us. We had no idea how many of you would share our passion for flavours from our culture and childhood.
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“To everyone who has visited our little corner on Tib Street with family, friends and fur babies – we are forever grateful. Watching you all enjoy what we have put so much time in creating has brought us incredible joy. (Sorry for all the awkward stares whilst you lick ice cream!) We have made some wonderful friends and memories.
“Saying goodbye to this space is heartbreaking for us, but we are excited for a new chapter.”
The owners closed out their statement by declaring that the Northern Quarter closure “isn’t the end of Lazy Sundae” only a goodbye to “where it all began”.
“Follow us on our journey to finding a new home for the community to enjoy and share our love for travel inspired ice creams and desserts,” the statement concluded, before thanking Manchester “for the support” throughout the years.
Lazy Sundae remains open inside Manchester Arndale.
Major pop star CMAT pops up for surprise performance in Gay Village bar
Daisy Jackson
CMAT, one of the world’s hottest artists right now, popped up and did a surprise set inside a legendary Gay Village bar last night.
The Irish singer (who is a bit of an adopted Manc at this point) is about to play two massive sold-out shows in Manchester.
She’s set to play at the O2 Victoria Warehouse tonight and tomorrow, performing hits from her chart-topping third studio album Euro-Country.
But before that, it was a night out on Canal Street for CMAT, who stunned punters inside Via by hopping up on stage.
CMAT jumped on stage along with drag queen Ginger Hunter, resident queen Amy Laqueefa, and Dahliah Rivers and belted out a rendition of her smash hit single, Take A Sexy Picture Of Me.
The group – and the delighted audience – all joined her in nailing the choreography to the song too.
Sharing a couple of videos, Via wrote: “What a Night! Ireland’s Pop Princess @cmatbaby paid us a visit and gave us a very special rendition of Take a Sexy Picture! We love Cmat.”
She’d also been spotted earlier in the evening at Lily Allen’s West End Girl show at Aviva Studios.
Dahliah Rivers commented: “A fever dream!!! What a gorgeous evening”
Amy LaQueefa wrote: “Obsessed that CMAT wanted to come and get up with us tonight”
Fast-rising alt-pop favourite CMAT relocated to Manchester as a 17-year-old back in 2013 to pursue her career in music, and it’s fair to say the move turned out to be a positive one.
She’s supported the likes of Sam Fender, and played massive festival slots like Glastonbury last summer.
And now CMAT will head straight from the stage at Via to a much bigger platform, with two sold-out gigs at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on 11 and 12 March.
The full 2026 MOBOs Fringe programme for the first-ever awards in Manchester has been revealed
Danny Jones
Now the BRITs have been and gone, it’s time to switch our focus to the next big awards show: the 2026 MOBOs, which is also coming to Manchester for the very first time, and they’re bringing the popular Fringe event along with it.
Get ready for more big showbiz hustle and bustle to hit the city centre before you know it; we, for one, are so ready.
Similar to the aforementioned BRIT Awards, the MOBOs also hold a regular ‘Fringe’ music, arts and cultural festival with each annual edition.
You can see the full range of this year’s largely free-to-attend MOBOs Fringe lineup and the extensive schedule in its entirety down below.
Manchester, it’s your time.
The full #MOBOFringe 2026 programme is here – nine days of music, culture, panels, parties and showcases across the city ahead of the #MOBOAwards on 26 March.
As you can see, there’s a lot on the cards this year, with different activities and activations happening all over central Manchester.
Featuring everything from exclusive live sets, sport and other entertainment, to various selectors and even a creative summit, it’s jam-packed with countless aspects beyond just that music that help make the industry as a whole tick.
Venues involved include The Whitworth Gallery, faithful Green Island Festival partners, the Niamos Centre, multi-purpose bars and events spaces like Side Street and Renae, as well as important music venues like The Deaf Institute and Aviva Studios – a.k.a. the home of Factory International.
Each hosting a variety of different dates over the course of its nearly week-long duration ahead of the MOBO Awards themselves, there’s something for everyone and anyone interested not just in Black music and entertainment but Black-British culture and more.
For instance, we already heard about the exclusive basketball match between Manchester and a fellow European competitor, and tickets are live as we speak. You can see the full Fringe programme in more detail online.
Running from Thursday 19 to Tuesday 24 March, the event week is shaping up to be a cracker.
As for the inaugural Manc MOBOs ceremony at Co-op Live, it gets underway just a couple of days later on the following Thursday (26 Mar).
serving as the perfect way to close the Fringe and this year’s edition as a whole.
Tickets for the MOBO Awards Manchester debut are live as we speak, with general admission prices starting from less than £30. You can grab yours HERE.
As for those expected to be in attendance, the likes of Olivia Dean and local rapper Aitch have already been confirmed for the live music lineup, and to see the full list of nominees, look no further…
Emily Sergeant -
28th January 2025 
