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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Manchester’s free summer picnic is coming back to Oxford Road
Danny Jones
Manchester’s free ‘Summer in the City Picnic’ is returning to the Oxford Road Corridor later this year, promising plenty of live music and entertainment, family-friendly fun, outdoor activities and lots more.
Coming back to Circle Square for the second time, the now annual and completely free city centre festival will set up for its sophomore edition right on Symphony Park.
Surrounded by numerous local businesses located within the thriving Bruntwood SciTech and Vita Group neighbourhood, this mini-district is once again set to draw in crowds from all over Manchester.
With that in mind, get your coolers, picnic baskets and blankets ready: it’s time for some alfresco fanfare.
Kicking off next month for one day only, Circle Square‘s ‘Summer in the City Picnic’ 2.0 will get underway pretty much from the outset, with the organisers promising a full day of festivities.
Visitors can look forward to an even more jam-packed schedule than last year, with creative workshops and interactive experiences, DJs right through to the evening, alongside roaming steel drum performances and even silent disco adventures, just to name a few.
Other events include: sip and paint sessions, pop-up mini golf and basketball shoot-outs; ‘foot pool’, a seasonal bouquet bar, as well as a dedicated picnic space for dogs, complete with bespoke pup portraits. Adorable.
2025 saw plenty of furry friends steal the show and become local celebrities for the day, and we’re sure ’26 will be no different.
The long picnic tables will once again take centre stage, creating a relaxed space for families and friends to come together over great food from Circle Square’s wide mix of indie restaurants and cafes, such as Gooey, Onda, Hello Oriental, Half Dozen Other, Saffa Soul, North Bar, Monkey Trio and more.
Punters are, obviously, to bring along their own picnic bits, packed lunches and favourite scran, but it’s nice to have the option of treating yourself to stuff on-site.
Better still, Circle Square’s proximity not only to Oxford Road train station, but the St Peter’s Square tram stop and various bus routes (even Piccadilly isn’t really that far) means that this is super accessible for anyone interested – not to mention that it’s completely free and open to all members of the public.
Taking place on Saturday, 8 August, we hope to see you there and hopefully with the sun shining.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures/Jody Hartley (supplied via SH Comms)
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UK set for another ‘potential’ heatwave next week after warmest June on record
Emily Sergeant
England could be heading towards another potential heatwave early next week, the Met Office has revealed.
While it’s obviously true that temperatures this week have returned to average for the time of year, bringing largely settled conditions for many, once next week rolls around, some parts of the country could be heating up once again – with the Met Office revealing what Greater Manchester residents should prepare for.
For the early part of next week, temperatures will definitely rise and perhaps reach what are considered heatwave conditions for some.
But if this is the case, the forecast suggests that it’s ‘unlikely’ to reach the high temperatures and humidity of last month’s heat, and the North West won’t be getting the worst of it.
The potential of next week’s heatwave comes after last month was officially declared the UK’s warmest June on record.
After a week of respite from the heat, high pressure moves in this weekend, dominating many southern and central areas for the next 10 days.
A defining feature of the month’s heatwave was the ‘exceptionally warm’ overnight temperatures, with frequent ‘tropical nights’ helping to drive the highest average June minimum temperatures on record.
Giving an insight into what’s to come as we head into the weekend, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, Tony Wisson, explained: “Toward the weekend, high pressure will continue to build in across most of the UK as it extends from the Azores. This will lead to more settled, warm or very warm conditions for many, especially across England and Wales, though some rain may still affect the far north.
“The forecast for this weekend suggests that temperatures could approach high 20s°C across parts of England, perhaps 30°C in parts of the southeast, with values of mid to high 20s°C in Wales.
“Although a return to heatwave conditions is looking increasingly likely for some areas, the likelihood of such extreme high temperatures or high levels of humidity as last week is currently low.”
Georgina Pellant -
12th November 2021 
