NOMADS STUDIO

VISITING THE NORTHERN BAR & RESTAURANT AT MANCHESTER CENTRAL

Having moved back up to Manchester a few years ago from London, I was missing the many industry events that there are down there when I spotted the Northern Restaurant & Bar was on in town. I booked a ticket, and I was intrigued to find out more about the industry up here. The food scene in Manchester is producing some really cool places, and even more exciting is the new generation of owners who are starting small groups of restaurants not only in Manchester but across the north.

I walked around the main floor, which consisted of drink brand stands aimed at visiting bar and restaurant owners, but my focus was on the talks. Throughout the day, there was a selection of industry leaders sharing their knowledge and opinions on where the industry is headed.

The Marketing Leaders Panel features an all-female panel of marketing experts led by Fran Cruse of Stray, sharing insider perspectives on cutting-edge campaign strategies, customer engagement tactics, and how to build brand loyalty in a competitive landscape. Speakers: Olivia Vachon - Head of Marketing, Wraps & Wings (part of Eatphoria), Sabrina Ruia - Head of Brand & Marketing, Rhode Island Coffee, Marnie Ahmed - Marketing Manager, Archie's, Annabel Mackie - Marketing Director, Itsu

Then, to the Restaurant Marketing Leaders Panel, where a panel of marketing leaders shared strategies and essential tools they use to stay ahead of the competition. Speakers: Jo Lynch - Account Director, KAM, Lucy Milne - Dishoom, James Newman - Marketing & Sales Director, Mission Mars and Lucy Simmonds - Blacklock.

Both panels had parallels in topics of conversation, namely how to keep ahead of the market when there's so much competeiton not just in terms of restaurants but competition for attention. Annabel Mackie shared how Itsu lean on data to deliver what customers want from the brand. They test new products in stores and ask for feedback on the spot. This helps drive the strategy. Lucy Milne from Dishoom spoke about allowing each site to stand on its own and lean on local knowledge.

The restaurant is headquartered in London, and local managers help to drive the strategy of those local restaurants. Attracting customers, though wasnt all about how to tap into Gen Z trends. Sabrina Ruai of Rhode Island Coffee learnt that most of the shop's customers were over 40, which meant adjusting marketing strategies and meeting customers where they were. They weren't on social media as much, so this meant having a hyper-local strategy and ensuring the exeprience instore was top-notch.

I caught the Cocktail Bar Leaders Panel mid-way through. Having worked in a bar many years ago in Manchester, I was intrigued to know how running a bar in the city felt in 2026. Led by Roxanne Dease, the speakers were Fran Cruse - Co-founder, Stray, Joe Schofield - Owner, Schofield's Bar/Sterling/Atomeca, and Alan Sherwood - Owner & Pot Wash, Little Mercies. The thing that stood out to me was how connected the owners were to their bars. The bars in question were hyperlocal and have a very different connection to customers than resturants to. They're places to wind down and dwell.

The panel spoke about how important it was to listen to their customers, and that they see pubs becoming places that might start doing great cocktails. Landlord rates were a subject that every panel spoke about. The relationship between venue and landlord can make or break a business. We're all aware of how many venues are closing across the country, leaving ghost cities. I know this first-hand as my hometown, Stoke-on-Trent, has lost hundreds of bars. What was a vibrant city centre is now dead.

Owain Williams, Operations Director of Madre, who is in the process of opening further venues, spoke about how important having an understanding landlord was. This ran through the whole panel, who were discussing how to open new sites. A lot of nerve is certainly needed to survive in the restaurant business. 

Eadaoin McDonagh, Managing Director of Lina Stores, and Mayur Patel, Co-Owner of Bundobust, both growing restaurants with strong brand pressance had similar concerns, something that is utmost when choosing where to open sites and also how those decisions affect plate prices. A fascinating listen and insight into the multitude of decisions owners face daily.

The main takeaway for me was that venues in cities need ot be nurtured and councils/landlords have a duty of care to owners/tenants. As difficult as it is to bring customers in to spend money, it shouldn't be made even more difficult by local councils. I'm sure that visitors to Manchester want to visit places that are unique to the city and not a homogeneous mush of the same chains we see all over the country.

Looking forward to the show in 2027.