From Manchester to the world – the iconic Northern food and drink brands with a presence at Manchester Airport

When you pass through Manchester Airport’s new-look, £1.3bn Terminal 2, the nods to the city’s symbolism and heritage are everywhere you look, from the worker bee emblem adorning the walls and digital screens to the giant honeycomb light feature that forms the centrepiece of the terminal’s departure lounge.

What really gives the terminal its Northern Soul, however, is the variety of local brands serving up a taste of Manchester in the bars and restaurants that have opened up in the extended terminal. Earlier this year, coffee chain Grindsmith became the latest in a growing list of local names taking up residence in the terminal, opening their new unit in partnership with WHSmith.

The Great Northern Market, which opened in February and brings the market hall street food concept to the airport for the first time, is also packed with Northern flavour.

Here we look at the brands from Manchester and the wider North that have helped shape the award winning, and distinctly Mancunian, passenger experience that the new terminal has to offer.

Amber Alehouse by Seven Bro7hers

They already run several successful bars in the city, but the Amber Alehouse marked Salford microbrewery Seven Bro7hers’ first foray into airport hospitality. It has proven so successful following its opening in 2021 that the gastropub has now expanded to take on additional space in the extended Terminal 2, as part of the second phase of the terminal’s 10-year, £1.3bn transformation programme. A creative menu ranging from light bites to pub grub and global flavours is complemented by Seven Bro7hers’ famous beers, and nods to Manchester’s music scene in its Hacienda-inspired design – and playlist.

Archie’s

Smash burgers are in vogue and brands like Archie’s helped set the trend. It opened its first unit in Manchester in 2010 and its inventive burger menu and distinctive bright pink décor won around a legion of online followers and celebrity fans, from Rita Ora to Kevin Hart. Its T2 unit has views across the airfield and opened as part of the first phase of the terminal’s transformation programme.

Barburrito

A Northern success story more than two decades in the making, Barburrito was the UK’s first burrito bar when it opened its doors in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens in 2005. That store remains open to this day and has been joined by more than a dozen others across the country. Its T2 location means you can choose from its range of burrito bowls, or select from a range of fillings and load up your burrito, before your next flight.

Great Northern Market – Gooey, Yard & Coop

With more than 470 covers, the Great Northern Market is the largest eatery in the airport’s expanded Terminal 2 – and as the name suggests, it has a decidedly Northern influence. The kitchens in the food hall will rotate, but among the names involved at the outset are the Northern Quarter’s donut and cookie favourite Gooey. The team behind fried chicken brand Yard & Coop helped craft the menu in the Nashville Hot House kitchen, while Manchester-born Executive Chef, Amy Tomkinson and Merseyside-born Chef, Sam Grainger have curated other menus.

Grindsmith

Grindsmith was established by local duo Luke Tomlinson and Pete Gibson in 2014 and its Media City location became renowned across the city, leading to the establishment of a chain of coffee houses. Manchester Airport passengers are now able to enjoy their range of expertly crafted coffees using ethically sourced beans locally roasted in Ancoats.

Joseph Holt (The Bridgewater Exchange)

Joseph Holt brewery was founded almost 200 years ago – well before the first aircraft took to the sky – but the brand’s Bridgewater Exchange brewpub in T2 has taken off. It’s the only UK airport pub to brew beer on site, and its menu is crammed with traditional Northern grub like steak and ale pie and Manchester tarts, along with Northern twists on global cuisine.

Pot Kettle Black

The brainchild of two former professional rugby league players, Jon Wilkin and Mark Flanagan, Pot Kettle Black aims to replicate the chic independent coffee scene of Sydney that Mark experienced in his playing days and bring it to Manchester. Its first coffee house opened in Barton Arcade in 2014 and ‘PKB’ is now a chain with three permanent locations across the city, including one in T2 Departures.

San Carlo

Sophisticated Sicilian eatery San Carlo opened its first unit in Birmingham in 1992 but has become synonymous with the North, with restaurants in Liverpool, Leeds, Alderley Edge and no fewer than six in Manchester, which are renowned for their fresh modern feel and influencer-friendly backdrops as well as authentic Italian eats. Their Manchester Airport unit is in T2, on the mezzanine level.