Forget the Northern Powerhouse, the city of Manchester has got its first Veggie Pret sandwich house. Opened last month, the shop is the UK’s fourth green-branded Pret, catering for vegetarians, vegans and meat reducers, and the first to appear outside London.
As it did for its very first veggie outlet, the sandwich chain will be repurposing an existing Pret, this one at 79-81 Deansgate. It will be open from 7am to 7pm on weekdays, 7.30am to 7pm on Saturdays and 8.30am to 6pm on Sundays.
The decision was made after hundreds of green-minded diners took to social media, asking when more of the popular shops would be seen outside the capital, and the weight of online opinion put the Rainy City in pole position. “When we asked customers on social media where they’d like to see the next Veggie Pret, Manchester was the top request,” said Hannah Dolan, the company’s head of food development.
The UK’s first Veggie Pret began life as a pop-up in Broadwick Street, Soho, in June 2016, giving bosses a chance to gauge whether Londoners’ growing appetite for meat free eating was a trend that was here to stay. It was, and so too, as a result, was the Veggie Pret, becoming a full-time fixture that September due to “overwhelming” demand.
A second Veggie Pret followed in April last year, on Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, and a third last October in Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell. The drive towards more environmentally friendly fare kicked off in earnest in 2015, after the company polled its customers for their thoughts on various meat free ventures.
The Deansgate shop will be offering new delights to tempt Mancunians through its doors, including Butternut and Cauliflower Gratin, and Almond Butter Bites.
“Veggie Pret is still growing and the future is looking as green as ever,” added Dolan. “We want customers to keep telling us what they think – and where they’d like to see Veggie Pret next.”