TASTE of Manchester is not for jumping the gun but after the sudden closure of NQ bar Kosmonaut we confidently predict Northern Monk will splash some of their £1.5m crowd-funding kitty on taking over the Tariff Street site.
The groundbreaking Leeds brewery has tweeted significantly: “As a business, we have been born, lived, studied, worked and have brewed in MCR. This autumn our quest to champion the best of the North lays roots here. We are incredibly proud to be a part of this great Northern City. More details soon. #dontmesswithmanchester #thenorthiscoming”
Kosmonaut ooked to us to have lost its way of late, cocktail list, food and atmosphere all diminished from the days back in 2013 when it won MFDF Bar of the Year, so we welcome its reinvention as the Northern Monk Refectory.
The original, housed above the award-winning brewery in an old flax store in Leeds’ Holbeck district, sets the template, serving 16 keg lines and two cask lines and hosting a seasonally changing street food roster in its kitchen.
They’ve been edging closer to Manchester this year – they were part of a tap takeover at Kosmonaut (above) in February and collaborated with JW Lees to brew the official Manchester Beer Week ale.
Meanwhile, c their crowdfunding campaig raised an amazing £1.5m to triple their brewing capacity and firm up plans for new taprooms in London and Manchester. Not bad going for a company that started in 2013 with just £5,000 down in the cellar of owner Russell Bisset’s parents.
After the jettisoning of Kosmonaut its owner, Joe Parkinson can now concentrate on the long mooted Quick Brown Fox bar up on Swan Street across from the Crown and Kettle. Expect it to be open by the end of October. Meanwhile, it’s business as usual at his other bar, PLY, on Lever Street.