Manchester’s popular Porky Pig cafe has closed for good, just three years after it opened its doors off the back of roaring success at Manchester’s Christmas markets.
Its regular Christmas stall in Exchange Square will still be open this year selling its famous Yorkshire pudding wraps and battered pigs in blankets, alongside new carvery boxes of full roasts or bangers and mash adapted from the restaurant – but the Cooper street site is no more.
Co-owner Eddie Osman told The Manc that he “wouldn’t put [his] hand to another cafe-restaurant” again.
Attributing the cafe’s closure with the increase in home working and a surge in online orders, as well as the high fees charged by online delivery apps, he said it had become impossible to turn a profit.
The cafe was was beloved by many for its giant Yorkshire pudding wraps filled with Full English breakfasts and Sunday roast dinners / Image: Porky Pig Carvery
Explaining that the cafe had been “just as busy” as before the pandemic, he said nearly all of Porky Pig’s customers had switched to ordering through online delivery apps, and that between the 35% app fees, plus his vat, rent, and staff costs, it wasn’t sustainable to keep the doors open anymore.
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He said: “We tried so long to keep it going but in the end, because nobody really came back to the offices – and we really relied on the office – it was all just online deliveries.
“We were always still very busy but it was just online deliveries, and with the companies taking 35% it just – we were just busy fools in the end”.
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“It was our little gem, and we knew so many people loved it but in the end, we just had to say this isn’t working.
“We were keeping it open for staff and the people that loved it as it were, but the numbers just didn’t stack up in the end and we had to let go.”
The Cooper street cafe has now closed, but you can still find Porky Pig at the Christmas markets in Exchange Square this year / Image: Porky Pig
Created by Eddie and Lucy Osman, the cafe had specialised in carvery and was beloved by many for its giant Yorkshire pudding wraps filled with Full English breakfasts and Sunday roast dinners.
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Eddie said that they had had lots of lovely messages from people saying they couldn’t wait to see them at the Christmas markets – and that this year, he had something special planned for the stall, which typically only offers Yorkshire pudding wraps.
A new menu, brought over from the cafe, will see them offer full Sunday roasts to take away for the first time as well as carvery boxes of bangers and mash.
He added that going into the new year the focus was on keeping their street food operation going.
Porky Pig posted a notice on its Instagram page eight weeks ago, sharing the sad news of the cafe’s closure with its followers: “We are now closed. Today we sadly say goodbye to our little gem Porky Pig in Manchester due to business never being the same since COVID and struggling every day trying to get staff sometimes you have to let go before your business takes you with it.
“We would like to say a massive thank you to all our loyal customers that’s supported us from the start and fingers crossed we will see you at the Manchester Christmas markets or Old Trafford.
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“Big love Eddie & Lucy.”
Featured Image – Porky Pig
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Chester Zoo named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors
Emily Sergeant
Congratulations are in order, yet again, for Chester Zoo… as this time its been one of England’s most popular attractions.
Merely months after being named the UK’s best zoo for the second year running, thanks to receiving more than 11,000 ‘excellent’ reviews from TripAdvisor, Chester Zoo has now got itself another prestigious title, as a major VisitEngland (VE) report has ranked it the third most-visited ‘paid for’ attraction in England – and the most visited outside of London.
The national tourist board for England gathered information from a total of 1,373 attractions across the country, and ranked the UK’s biggest charity zoo as the third overall in terms of popularity, with a whopping 1.9 million visitors in 2024 alone.
The Tower of London took top spot with 2.9 million visitors, while the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew was second place with 2.3 million visitors.
When it comes to free attractions, on the other hand, it wad the British Museum that claimed the top spot with 6.5 million visitors, while the Natural History Museum (5.9 million visitors) took second place, and the Tate Modern (4.6 million visitors) got third.
So as you can see, the south and London in particular is a pretty dominating force in England’s tourism industry – which is why it’s even more impressive to see Chester Zoo ranked so highly.
The new VE title also comes after the zoo was recently given £4 million of lottery funding to help ‘transform’ the local environment and restore wildlife habitats across the Cheshire and wider North West region.
Not only that, but if course follows Chester Zoo’s unveiling of its new immersive experience named Heart of Africa, which is the the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK and is home to 57 iconic African species.
Chester Zoo has been named one of England’s most popular tourist attractions with 1.9m visitors / Credit: Chester Zoo
“As a major international wildlife charity, everything we do is focused on supporting global conservation,” commented Chester Zoo’s Commercial Director, Dom Strange.
“Whether it’s caring for highly-threatened animals and plants, making scientific discoveries, influencing Government environmental policies, impacting the National Curriculum to better connect young people with nature, or our conservation efforts in around 20 countries, we’re fully committed to protecting endangered species for the future.
“But none of this would be possible without our visitors.
“Every person who comes to the zoo for a fun and inspiring day out is helping to fund our vital work, so we want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us and helped us to rank so highly in VisitEngland’s latest report.”
Featured Image –
News
Manchester Museum saves a ‘national treasure’ to ensure it stays in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum has made a stunning new addition to its natural history collections, and in the process has ensured a ‘national treasure’ stays in the UK.
Not long after claiming the coveted title of European Museum of the Year for 2025, Manchester Museum has done it again – this time working together with John Rylands Library to acquire Henry Dresser’s unique personal copy of his anthology A History of the Birds of Europe so that this ‘invaluable resource’ can remain in the UK for future generations.
The beautifully-illustrated collection of books provide an important historical record to help understand how and why bird populations have changed over time.
Dresser’s personal copy is heavily-annotated with personal notes and observations.
These books are deemed to be of ‘outstanding significance’, not only for scientific purposes but also for their aesthetic value, as they have also been illustrated by some of the leading wildlife artists of the day.
The volumes were recognised as a national treasure by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, which is supported by the Arts Council, and this meant that the Government placed a temporary export deferral on them to allow time for UK buyers to raise the funds to keep them in the country.
Brilliantly, the acquisition of these books reunites them with Dresser’s own bird specimens that are already cared for by Manchester Museum, including species such as the Slender-billed curlew, which is now believed to be extinct.
The now-extinct species’ presence in both Dresser’s beautifully-annotated volumes and the ornithological collections at Manchester Museum highlights the vital role that historical records play in tracking biodiversity loss over time to uncover the long-term impact of environmental change.
Manchester Museum has saved a ‘national treasure’ to ensure it stays in the UK / Credit: Manchester Museum
“Threats to the natural world and biodiversity have never been greater and while this anthology has historical value, it also speaks to the urgent issues of the present,” commented Esme Ward, who is the Director of Manchester Museum.
“These books are breathtakingly beautiful, and by bringing them together with natural history collections, we believe they will not only provide scientific benefit, but also capture the hearts of future ornithologists and conservationists.”
A History of the Birds of Europe will be officially unveiled at a private view on Friday 27 June, before being displayed to the public for the first time in Manchester Museum’s ‘Living Worlds’ gallery from Saturday 28 June 2025 right through until Sunday 25 January 2026.
Georgina Pellant -
12th November 2021 
