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
News
Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”