Northern Quarter’s Earth cafe to close

Tonight I reveal sad news indeed – that institution of the Northern Quarter, Earth is to serve its last veggie feast at the end of February.
After more than nine years pf providing good value food from the small, welcoming basement below Manchester’s Buddhist Centre, the city’s only vegetarian and vegan venue will be shutting up shop.
My reliable sources reveal that some staff will be losing their jobs and that the cafe can no longer pay its way.
Apart from the fact that the ethically run centre is a great venue in its own right, I also feel a sense of sadness that such an epitome of the area’s unique vibe is going to fall foul to the credit crunch.
When I lived nearby, Earth was my regular lazy-but-healthy Saturday lunch option and more recently I’ve been a fan of the take-out service for a cheatin’ evening meal.
But its out of the way location also made it an ideal place for those sort of meetings where you didn’t want to bump into anyone – hide out in one of the basic booths and catch up on the gossip with an enormous slice of heavenly cake and their amazing own-blend Tiger Chi.
And, of course, don’t forget free wi-fi and free filtered water in jugs. Way ahead.
Yes, I’m completely biased in my view and no, I’m not a vegan or even a veggie but this isn’t the sort of place where those are pre-requisites. Fresh ingredients properly seasoned and well-cooked does it for me, I even got the man from Channel 4 to give it a visit last year!
Being an independent where you could get a nutritious meal, a delicious cake, the best smoothies in the city by miles and cakes to die for – this is a venue which deserves to see out the current economic downturn – and if there’s enough of you out there that feel the same – the campaign starts here.
If however you’re happy to see the city centre become one long McBucksWay, then sit tight – the world is moving your way.