Parklife has announced it will have an alcohol-free bar on the festival site for the first time ever this June, welcoming Love From to the fields at Heaton Park.
The huge Manchester festival confirmed that Love From, the city’s only booze-free boozer, would be joining its list of vendors.
It’s the first time in Parklife’s 14-year history that it will have an alcohol-free bar on site, a move with festival boss Sacha Lord says is ‘exciting and important’.
Love From first opened its doors as a pop-up at Kampus in January, where it’s since been granted residency.
Founded by Karl Considine, Love From has long maintained the ‘cutting out isn’t missing out’ and has provided a space that offers all the best bits of a classic cocktail bar, minus the hangover.
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Parklife will be the local bar’s biggest event to date (and they don’t come much bigger than this).
It’s hoped it can spread the importance of the Love From messaging among the young crowds who flock to the festival every year, breaking boundaries around drinking culture as it goes.
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To celebrate this milestone achievement, Love From has even taken over the huge billboard at Victoria Warehouse, and will be collaborating with Parklife to give away to VIP weekend tickets through Instagram.
Founder of Parklife festival and Night Time Economy Advisor for Greater Manchester, Sacha Lord commented: “We’re really excited to be bringing Love From to Parklife festival this Summer.
“Working with local brands is always exciting, but specifically working with Love From as a result of the impact they are having in the alcohol-free space is a really important part of running an inclusive festival.”
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Founder of the Love From bar, Karl Considine, said: “Personally this is a real pinch me moment for a few reasons, even though I don’t drink I love house music, and I am excited to be able to bring my business to Parklife.
“It is wild to me that Love From is only a few months old and here we are working with one of the biggest festivals not just in the UK, but in Europe.”
Karl Considine, founder of Love From, on announcing his alcohol-free bar will be at Parklife festival
It’s also been reported that almost half of young adults (44%) regularly drink no- or low-alcohol drinks.
Sacha continued: “From my own experience through my work for The Warehouse Project, we are seeing first hand how younger audiences want different experiences which includes more propensity to drink no and low drinks.
“Hospitality has to adapt our industry to suit current societal changes, there is a huge resurgence in the non-alcoholic market and we have watched Love From do incredibly well in this space.
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“Working with Love From was no brainer for us and we hope it is the start of a long term partnership!”
Karl concluded: “The fact that a festival like Parklife recognises not just that sentiment of ‘you don’t need to drink to have fun or join in’, but also that they’ve recognised the changing behaviours in drinking culture amongst younger generations is amazing to see.”
Beloved Manc butty shop Bada Bing set for a sensational return to the city centre
Danny Jones
Sandwich lovers rejoice because one of the finest butty shops to ever grace Manchester is returning: that’s right, Bada Bing is bada-back!
The Sopranos-inspired deli and sandwich shop that took its name from one of the central locations featured in the iconic US drama (yes, the strip club), was a huge success when it first opened in Manchester a few short years ago, so it was a huge blow when it closed in February 2022.
Starting out by serving sandwiches out of a window at The B Lounge pub on Paton Street near Piccadilly, before moving to a small kitchen on Radium Street and eventually setting up their stall inside Ancoats General Store, they would regularly have lines around the block every lunchtime.
These Italian-American sarnies were so popular you’d often struggle to get your claws on one – and believe us, they really are a two-handed task – as they’d sell out on what felt like most days. But now, whether you were a regular or someone who missed out, there is hope once again:
Announcing their sensational return to a new site over in the Northern Quarter, which will now mark the fourth premises they’ve popped up at, Bada Bing is back with a bang and, as you can, they dropped the news with one of the best reveal videos we’ve ever seen.
If you know, you know…
Set to take over 125 Oldham Street, owners Sam Gormally and Meg Lingenfelter haven’t yet graced us with an opening date but the new unit should hopefully be open sooner rather than later.
The duo, who previously worked at fellow NQ favourite Another Heart to Feed, came up with the concept during lockdown and it didn’t take long for the idea to take off, nor for them to earn their spot amongst the very best sandwich places in Manchester.
Seriously, these things were so big and unwieldy (in the best way possible) that they even used to come with eating instructions: both hands and the trademark Tony Soprano hunch recommended, though the slightly stained wife-beater, boxer shorts and open dressing gown look is optional.
From slices of provolone cheese, all the thinly sliced Italian meats you could think of and the closest thing to actual ‘gabagool‘ as you’ll find in Greater Manchester, the menu was fitting of being served up to the iconic characters that once sat outside Satriale’s and a big approving grin from the man himself.
Simply put, we cannot wait and we will certainly keep you posted when we find out exactly when Bada Bing confirms their official reopening date.
Burger King is giving away free burgers to new drivers today
Emily Sergeant
Burger King will be giving away burgers to drivers who have recently passed their tests for free of charge today.
In case it wasn’t on your radar, tomorrow (Thursday 24 July) is actually National Drive-Thru Day, and in a bid to properly celebrate this unofficial holiday, Burger King has decided to hand out a bunch of freebies to newbies today.
The fast food chain is asking all new drivers to “buckle up”, head on down to their nearest Burger King drive-thru, and help themselves to a free burger.
All newly-qualified drivers will be able to take their pick from either the Whopper or Chicken Royale without parting ways with a penny, and all they’ll need to do the claim their freebie is simply show off their learner’s ‘L Plates’ to the staff at their local Burger King restaurant.
/ Credit: Burger King UK (via Instagram) | Supplied
Hundreds of Burger King drive-thrus across the UK are taking part in the one-day promotion – including several across in Greater Manchester.
Although it might seem a little too good to be true, there’s a reason Burger King has chosen to dish out the freebies, and that’s because the company says it knows that one of the first activities newly-qualified drivers like do once they’ve passed their test is make a pit stop at a drive-thru with their mates to show off their new wheels and skills.
Sometimes though, navigating a drive-thru for the first time can be tricky, and this leaves new drivers feeling a bit like a rabbit in the headlights.
Luckily with this one-day Burger King offer, new drivers’ first drive-thru trip couldn’t be any easier.
The offer is available nationwide today (Wednesday 24 July) at Burger King drive-thru lanes only, while stock lasts, and newly qualified drivers must verbally mention “BK Plates” at the drive-thru lane to unlock their free burger.
Daisy Jackson -
14th May 2024 
