TWO new independent restaurants will open in Ancoats this summer - marking a new wave of food and drink openings in the reticent, redeveloping and residential-heavy neighbour to the Northern Quarter.

“It’s brilliant to see new restaurant uses emerging in Ancoats"

Rudy's Pizza and Goose Fat & Wild Garlic will launch in The Fairbairn Building on Cotton Street in July 2015 - the former home of Manchester street food outfit, Guerrilla Eats.

The two new indie restaurants will join more rumoured openings around Ancoats including new food, drink and retail units in the recently completed Royal Mills and NUOVO apartment buildings.

Chris Nutter, Surveyor in Bilfinger GVA’s Retail, Hotels & Leisure Team, said: “The rise of street food traders and pop ups is now leading to independents taking on permanent restaurant units and by choosing to locate in Ancoats, it shows a strong belief in the area and its future.”

Rudy’s Pizza will occupy 3,000 sq.ft at Fairbairn while Goose Fat & Wild Garlic will occupy the neighbouring 4,000 sq.ft unit. The 7,000 sq.ft building has now been fully let by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

Cutting Room Square and the Halle St Peter's, Ancoats

Marie Hodgson, Head of Area for Greater Manchester at the HCA, said:

“It’s brilliant to see new restaurant uses emerging in Ancoats that will complement the area’s existing residential and office based developments.

“The Fairbairn Building overlooks Cutting Room Square and is positioned directly opposite Halle St Peters, so has always had fantastic potential to host food and drink operators. It’s great that the building will finally be brought to life through these two restaurant businesses.”

Jim Morgan, 27, and Kate Wilson, 26, of Rudy's Pizza - a regular on the city's street food scene - told Confidential they'd been scrimping and saving for four years in order to open their own permanent restaurant. Rudy's will feature an open kitchen and centrepiece Italian dome pizza oven surrounded by seating for around 30 customers.

"The important thing for us is that when you walk in, the first thing you will see is us making the pizzas and taking the orders," Morgan told us. "We're absolutely thrilled to be coming to Ancoats at this exciting time. We've always loved the area and really welcome the HCA's effort to attract independent and community-based businesses into the neighbourhood. We can't wait to bring authentic Neapolitan pizza to an area with such rich Italian heritage.”

Sophie Jarvis of Goose Fat & Wild Garlic added:

“Having lived in Ancoats for over two years we knew this was the place we wanted to start Goose Fat & Wild Garlic. Bringing a little taste of the countryside to the city by way of beautiful, fresh produce cooked with love from our kitchen and being part of Manchester's most thriving inner city suburb makes for an exciting year.”

The news follows the HCA’s recent announcement that it will be investing £1.2m into its commercial estate in Ancoats, alongside new plans to build fourteen, four storey, four bed houses in two rows sitting opposite the original Victorian terraces on George Leigh Street - read here.