“THE TRUTH is we’re struggling to cram all our ideas and prospective traders into our current space,” says B.Eat Street co-founder Chris Legh. “Plus, we can’t stop buying really weird stuff… and that needs to go somewhere doesn’t it?”
We’re also adding a fourth bar, Bunny Jackson’s Juke Joint...
Speaking of weird, we’re sat on the sagging, grey mattress of a creaky silver La Rochelle bed in a former Deansgate glamour studio, staring at multiple prone, nudey women on abandoned canvas.
“Why are we in here?” I ask, clocking a red feather boa beneath the bed.
“Because this…” replies fellow B.Eat Street organiser, Bart Murphy, wrapping the boa around his neck like some painted lady of the Old West, “…is our new dining room.”
Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised, after all, this is the Manchester-based collective which made an art form of turning bric-a-brac into entertainment (and profit) with Junkyard Golf Club, as well as feeding 75,000 hungry punters across their Friday Food Fight events.
But enough of the flirting, Legh has brought me here to discuss the swift expansion of B.Eat Street, a mere three months after the semi-permanent (‘around three to five years’) booze and street food back-alley – featuring six micro diners, three bars and one sun deck - launched on Great Northern’s once-sleepy mews.
“We always wanted the full stretch,” explains Legh, as we walk the extended length of the alley, from the AMC cinema entrance to Great Bridgewater Street, “we’ve just brought it forward… nobody wants to launch in January.”
B.Eat Street will swallow up three more units on Deansgate Mews at Great NorthernSo what has changed?
Chris: “Firstly we’re having a reshuffle of traders, Lekker (Dutch pancakes) and Dim Sum Su (‘Cheeky’ Cantonese’) have made way for Eat New York (cracking bagels - try the crab) and Big Grille Style (Grilled cheese) to expand into full diners, whilst Bali Beach Hut (Indonesian) and Indian Canteen (MFDF's 'Best Street Food' winner) are roaring on.
"We’re also turning the jerk chicken shack at the entrance into a warming winter shack with hot rum and fire pits – call it an alternative to the Christmas Markets.”
…and the new stuff?
C: “We’re adding three more food units; two new street food traders alongside a standalone unit from a restaurant brand completely new to Manchester.”
Interesting. Is it a Mexican?
C: “Yes.”
Right. What else?
C: “We’re also adding a fourth bar, Bunny Jackson’s Juke Joint – a boozy, bluesy, sippin’ n foot tappin’ drinking den with live music and chicken wire stage.”
Who’s Bunny Jackson?
C: “Bunny was an old busker that Lyndon (the third B.Eat Streeter) met in New Orleans. He had one leg and played the mouth organ with no teeth.”
Winter’s approaching, is it a good idea to extend the street now?
C: “The changes we’re making mean most of B.Eat Street will now be inside. We’re adding more indoor heated seating, including some private dining rooms, and all the micro-diners have seating, as do all four bars. We also have a drink and eat anywhere policy, meaning you can sit where you want. But we’re going to add more heaters outside too… then there’s the fire pits.”
B.Eat Street co-founder Chris Legh
What about the empty space upstairs?
C: “The Brickhouse Gallery is going to get more love. We’re soon hosting the Manchester Print Fair up there and have organised a regular comedy night with the Trap Door Comedy Club. We’re also throwing regular DJ nights including a monthly residency from Manchester’s debauched disco dandies, Bad Fun.
“We’ve also brought some pretty niche ideas back from a recent trip to Japan, Gemma (PR Queen) is determined to set up Manchester’s first Zentai Club.”
Zentai?
C: “It involves dressing in a full spandex body suit and stroking each other. It’s like yoga, but nothing like yoga.”
Takes all sorts. Does ‘street food’ still excite people?
C: “I’ve always thought of ‘street food’ as a marketing term. What’s real street food? Perhaps if we flew in hawkers from Bangkok or sold black pudding on St Peter’s Square. What we have is a group of talented, independent start-ups serving great food. Hopefully that’s something that will never go out of fashion.”
B.Eat Street remains opens on Deansgate Mews, Great Northern, Manchester M3 4EN, with the extension expected to launch in mid-November.
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