Owners of a popular Manchester restaurant in the heart of the city’s Gay Village have made the difficult decision to call it a day and will be shutting up their longstanding Canal Street venue for good.
Owners of No. 1 Canal Street Lisa Kettle and Danielle Condron, who also run a pub called The Bridge in Sale, revealed they would be closing both venues in a heartfelt message shared on social media on Tuesday night (10 January).
No. 1 Canal Street first opened as a bar and restaurant in Manchester in 2017 and, two years later, was named Manchester’s best restaurant at the 2019 British Restaurant Awards.
The pair said it was a ‘very hard decision’ and implied that it was ‘difficult times’ that had spurred them to make the call to close both businesses.
image: No. 1 Canal Street
image: No. 1 Canal Street
The full post, which has been shared on No. 1 Canal Street’s Facebook page, said: “It is with great sadness we have had to close both No 1 & The Bridge today. We would like to thank you all for your amazing support over the last 6 years. This has been a very hard decision during these difficult times.
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“We’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to our amazing customers, and the team that has made everything possible. Lots of love, Danni and Lisa xx”
A similar statement was also posted on The Bridge’s social media page the same evening, reading: “It is with great sadness we have had to close both The Bridge & No 1 today. We would like to thank you all for your amazing support over the last 6 years.
“This has been a very hard decision during these difficult times. We’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to our amazing customers, and the team that has made everything possible.”
Bookings are now closed on the No. 1 Canal Street restaurant website.
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The posts have been flooded with comments of love and support since going up, with one person writing: “This place has been our No 1 for years, Food and Staff were Perfect every time. We’ve been there twice in the past few weeks.
“On our last visit without getting too political the Manager did say the rail strikes had had a massive effect on footfall and turnover, with increasing costs too it’s so hard for smaller businesses. It must of been so difficult to make this call. Thank you for being such a great venue xx”
Another person wrote: “Terrible news. No1 was a welcome addition to the village and have enjoyed many meals and drinks there over the years. Best wishes for the future, but the venue will be missed.”
A third said: “Seeing all the people saying how sad it is.. and it is. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL VENUES AND NOT WETHERSPOONS”
A fourth added: “Our favourite restaurant in town. Really sorry to read this; wishing you all the best for whatever comes next. Thanks for some great, relaxed times – and tasty grub served by friendly, kind people.”
Feature image – No. 1 Canal Street
News
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs
Emily Sergeant
24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.
You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy… and now it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that these new services will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.
The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:
50 (Salford – Manchester)
216 (Tameside – Manchester)
263 (Trafford – Manchester)
192 (Stockport – Manchester)
83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM
They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.
“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”
“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”
Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.
Georgina Pellant -
11th January 2023 
xx” 
