The ground floor of Ducie Street Warehouse is getting a new life this summer as a 15,000 sq ft food and drink hall called Manchester Street Food.

Set inside the city’s hulking Grade II listed warehouse, the space will pack in 11 street food traders, two bars, a games room and two stages for live entertainment. The 32-seat mini cinema that regulars know and love is sticking around, too.

The project comes from the team behind Edinburgh Street Food, which launched in 2023 and quickly became one of Scotland’s buzziest food hall hangouts. In Manchester, the numbers scale up nicely. Expect 450 indoor covers, a 75-cover private hire space and a terrace with room for another 180 diners when the sun decides to show up.

At the helm is Ben MacMillan, who sees the move south as the obvious next step. He says: "Manchester has always been a city with incredible energy, creativity and a love of food, so bringing our concept here in this stunning venue is a natural and exciting next step.

"We want to create a space brought to life by local artists which celebrates the city’s culture and provides a line-up of independent traders and brewers a city centre platform to shine.”

MacMillan also pointed to the success north of the border, adding: "We’ve seen how much people embraced the spirit of ESF in Edinburgh, and we know Manchester, with its energy and hunger for innovation, will take it to another level."

Manchester Street Food is expected to open later this summer, bringing around 180 new jobs with it.