Manchester is getting a new chicken restaurant this week as popular US eatery Slim Chickens opens inside the Arndale.
Throwing open its doors this Thursday, Slims will bring its signature southern-style buttermilk marinated chicken and crispy tenders to Manchester city centre for the very first time – alongside a huge range of signature dipping sauces, like gravy mayo.
In total, customers will have a choice of fifteen different dipping sauces including the likes of blue cheese, sriracha garlic, buffalo, honey BBQ, mango habanero and cayenne ranch.
Also on offer will be a wide selection of fresh chicken sandwiches, wings, salads and wraps, as well as vegetarian options and sides, including a plant-based buffalo sandwich and mac’n’cheese.
The plant-based buffalo sandwich at Slim Chickens. / Image: Slim Chickens
This will be the sixteenth UK restaurant for the brand, including one at the Trafford centre, since it first launched in Arkansas Delta, US, back in 2003.
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What first began with just a tender, a sauce and a simple mission to create the best in the south, has since become a household favourite – first in the US, and now here in Manchester too.
Founders Greg Smart and Tom Gordon have certainly come a long way from cooking in their garage, that’s for sure. Over a decade later, their business has now grown to more than 100 sites in the US alone.
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Image: Slim Chickens
At Slim Chickens, food and drinks are served up alongside blues music and BT Sport, with US Sports, Premier League and Champions League shown. With seating for more than 100 diners spread across two floors, you’ll find Slims on the Upper Mall at Manchester Arndale.
Customers can expect family seating, intimate tables, booths and large platters cooked fresh to order and served in less than 10 minutes.
Speaking on the new opening, Phil Neale, Marketing and Communications Director at Boparan Restaurant Group, which owns Slim Chickens, said: “Manchester is home to a thriving and diverse food scene, and we can’t wait to be a bigger part of it as we prepare to open our Manchester Arndale restaurant.
“We opened our restaurant at The Trafford Centre less than a year ago, and we’ve been delighted with its success to date – so much so that we’re expanding our local offering with the launch of our Manchester Arndale restaurant.
“We’re dedicated to serving great food in a great atmosphere and look forward to welcoming even more Manchester foodies into our restaurant from Thursday.”
Pat Regan at the Fairfield Social Club – a brilliantly unhinged evening of standup comedy
Clementine Hall
There’s a particular kind of chaos that only Pat Regan can deliver, and the recently re-recognised Fairfield Social Club got the full force of it last night.
Making his Manchester debut as part of the ‘A Lovely Time’ series at the equally as lovely Fairfield Social Club, the New York comic, writer, and podcast host arrived with the energy of someone who had already lived through three emotional breakdowns before breakfast and somehow still had the worst to come.
Known for his work on HBO’s Hacks and the cult-favourite podcast Seek Treatment with fellow comic Catherine Cohen, Regan’s stand-up feels less like your traditional comedy set and more like being trapped in the world’s funniest group chat.
The perfectly intimate room beneath Fairfield’s railway arches was packed with adoring fans who were immediately on side as Regan launched into stories about traumatic trips to Paris, Grindr dates, massage tables and having crushes at the gym.
The audience was in the palm of his slightly sweaty hands (don’t worry, he’ll be fine with me saying so), laughing at every awkward punchline and self-deprecating anecdote.
The material is nothing groundbreaking, but this is what makes it so deeply hilarious; never before has shopping for the perfect pair of jeans been so serious and unserious at the same time.
There was laughter rolling through the venue for virtually the entire set, and after an hour of never-ending quips and jokes, we were left wanting more.
And the best part is, it won’t be long until we get more from this place, and it’s no wonder they’re starting to get the hosting plaudits they deserve.
It’s safe to say Fairfield Social Club has become one of Manchester’s most exciting homes for alternative comedy, and this felt like exactly the sort of booking that justifies its growing reputation.
By the time Regan left the stage, the audience looked equal parts exhausted and delighted. An absolutely classy evening indeed.
Find out about what else is on at the Fairfield Social Club HERE.
First-ever JD Wetherspoon pub to open at Manchester Airport
Danny Jones
In news that we feel many Mancs and travellers all-round have been waiting on for a long time, the well-known British chain, JD Wetherspoon, will be opening its first-ever pub at Manchester Airport.
That’s right: soon that first airport pint of the holiday could actually be a relatively cheap one.
While Wetherspoons are no strangers to popping up in terminals across the UK and Ireland, they’ve never done so here in Manchester despite having three, yes THREE, in Gatwick alone.
Not for much longer, though, as soon T2 will be lending more than 3,000 square feet of its prime leisure and retail real estate to a new Greater Manchester ‘Spoons’.
Posting on social media, the airport wrote: “Wetherspoon comes to Manchester Airport this September! The pub will be located in the Terminal 2 Departures lounge and will have more than 300 seats.
“This will become the final major food and drink venue to open its doors as part of our decade-long £1.3bn transformation of Terminal 2. It will be named ‘The Belle Vue’, in a nod to Manchester’s historic showground [now a sports complex and leisure hub].
“It was a focal point for social life in the city from the Victorian period up until 2020, when the final event was held at Belle Vue stadium. The design of the pub is inspired by the history of Belle Vue and the sporting culture of the North West of England. We look forward to welcoming you all in September!”
While a lot of money has been pumped into T2’s refurb as a whole over the past few years, it remains unclear just how much this particular new addition will cost; we do know that great sums were set aside for the launch of the Great Northern Market last year.
The inaugural Manchester Airport Spoons is just the latest in a series of major renovations.
As mentioned, the company already operate several up and down the country – 10 airport pubs, to be specific – but this will be the first in the North West.
Speaking on the news, JD Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said in a statement: “We are looking forward to opening at Manchester Airport. We believe our new pub will prove popular with travellers of all ages and be an asset to the new terminal.”
With Manchester Airport adding a dozen new routes to its roster this summer, you can expect to see even more people flying in and out than ever – no doubt having already polished off a cut-price pint or two beforehand.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd February 2022 
