Chorlton tasted Miami Crispy - and spat it right back out

Dear Millers — What a weekend! A rare sighting of the Northern Lights (or aurora borealis) on Friday night and then two days of beautiful sunshine (admittedly followed by torrential rain last night, like the weather gods were punishing us for getting ahead of ourselves). We hope you caught sight of the lights and you’re now ready to read about another short-lived phenomenon: the disastrous incursion into Chorlton by Manchester’s most popular chicken shop, which is today’s big story. One source complains of “Chorltonites who will repost Guardian articles about classism and Islamophobia being bad but then flip out when a successful restaurant that makes food for working class, majority Asian, people comes to town.” We’ve also got a new deputy council leader in Manchester and a very beautiful Home of the Week in Wigan. 

“Yet again, The Mill publishes a story that I have never read or even heard about,” wrote longtime Miller David Dunne under our very popular weekend read about Vladimir Putin’s visit to Manchester. We had never heard about it until Manchester Unspun author Andy Spinoza popped into Mill HQ to show us the picture of Putin in the Town Hall in his “ghastly crimplene suit”. It’s a fantastic piece and readers have been adding their own experiences of the Putin visit and subsequent cultural exchange under the piece and on our Instagram post. 

If you’re not a Mill member yet, you’re missing out on the best comment sections in the land, as well as great members-only stories like Daniel’s piece last week about the apparent decline of Spinningfields, where big companies have started moving out and a yoga studio has taken up a vacant office space in a glassy tower. We’ve got a strong lineup of stories this week, plus two Mill Members Club events coming up in June, so there’s no better time to join if you’re not already in the community. 

Collecting broken pottery in the Medlock

From today’s sponsor: It’s now just a few weeks until the opening of Wild on 5 June, a brilliant new exhibition at Manchester Museum exploring how people are creating and repairing connections with nature. Millers have been sending in photos of their favourite wild spaces, including this one from Antonia. “The river Medlock flowing between Daisy Nook and Park Bridge country parks is one of my favourite wild places in Greater Manchester,” she writes. “I love how nature has taken back over what was once a hugely important industrial area. Me and my children love to collect the broken pottery the river brings and splash in the stream after it has rained.”

To take part, email us a photo and description of your favourite wild space. Our favourite ones will be published in future newsletters and you will get a free curator’s tour of the exhibition. Read more about Wild and plan your visit.

Want to be our next sponsor? You can reach more than 45,000 Millers with your message while supporting high quality local journalism. Find out more. 

🌦️This week’s weather

Our local weatherman Martin Miles says we can expect a little more rain this week, but we might get another pleasant weekend. 

Tuesday 🌦️ Dull skies and rain with some bright spells breaking through in the afternoon. 17°C.

Wednesday🌤️ Hazy sunny spells and a few isolated showers later in the afternoon. 20°C.

Thursday 🌦️ Warm with sunny spells, with a risk of downpours that may turn thundery. 22°C.

Friday ☁️ Cool, mostly cloudy with occasional light showers. 18°C.

Weekend ⛅️ Mostly dry with pleasant temperatures in the high teens and hazy sunny spells.

The big story: Chorlton tasted Miami Crispy, and spat it right back out

Top line: At the end of last month, Miami Crispy, the very popular chicken shop, had to close its new branch in Chorlton just three weeks after opening. The council issued a temporary order to stop trading, saying the business didn’t have the correct planning permission. Those are the facts of the case, but of course, there’s rather more going on…

Context: Miami Crispy, as we covered last year, is a phenomenon. Specialising in spicy chicken burgers, it started to attract hours-long queues over the pandemic after going viral on Tiktok. 

• Insiders claim its shop in Burnage makes as much as £45,000 a week, selling a chicken burger, chips and a drink for under £5.

• Residents surrounding the shop have complained repeatedly about the litter left by customers and big increases in local traffic.

New patch: Miami’s original shop is wedged between a vape shop and a barber. Its Chorlton site, on Manchester Road, is surrounded by vegan supermarkets, cocktail bars and independent restaurants. The locals are also different in Chorlton: Miami’s usual clientele is mostly young people from South Asian communities who come from far and wide to queue for a burger. 

Even before the shop opened, objections were flooding into the council. “I don’t think this is a suitable location for the kind of takeaway that I understand Miami Crispy is apparently likely to be,” emailed one resident. “I think it will be a public nuisance, to residents, visitors and businesses in the area.”

This prediction, according to residents and businesses that have spoken to The Mill, was correct. “I think the big issue was the traffic and illegal parking,” says Jade, who lives just round the corner from the shop. She says that her road was regularly full of cars on yellow lines, with hazards on and engines idling, while their owners went to pick up their burgers. 

“One guy drove a motorbike right up,” says James Madden, who runs the neighbouring 99 Reasons Cafe Bar, “literally had his front wheel in the entrance of Miami Crispy.” James and other business owners say they spoke to Miami’s owner, who was apologetic, but the issues never seemed to get under control. 

• Joel, the manager of a local cocktail bar, said the businesses on the road are very symbiotic, and Miami’s “just doesn’t fit that kind of style of neighbourly, good vibes.” Although he stresses this isn’t about the business owners themselves, but the clientele.

There is another way of looking at that: One staff member of another venue on Manchester Road, who asked not to be named, says the affair “​​stinks of Chorltonites who will repost Guardian articles about classism and Islamophobia being bad but then flip out when a successful restaurant that makes food for working class, majority Asian, people comes to town.”

The suggestion from some locals is that yes, Miami might have broken its licensing rules, but that probably only got highlighted because lots of people didn’t want it to be there. 

Bottom line: Miami’s Chorlton site is set to reopen, as an eat-in restaurant rather than a takeaway, on 21 June. "Seating will be increased from 10 to over 30 for our customers,” a spokesperson for Miami Crispy told the MEN. “A new takeaway site is opening soon nearby.” Miami’s is not the only chicken shop in Chorlton, but its tumultuous few weeks on Manchester Road have shown that viral spicy burgers aren’t for everyone. 

Your Mill briefing

🌹 Manchester City Council has a new joint deputy leader. Garry Bridges, councillor for Old Moat and former executive member for children and young people, will take on the role alongside deputy leader Joanne Midgeley after a “friendly and comradely contest” with councillors Shazia Butt, Basil Curley and Lord Mayor Yasmine Dar. The appointment comes after former deputy leader and Longsight councillor Luthfur Rahman lost his seat in Longsight to Shahbaz Sarwar, a candidate running under the banner of George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain. 

🪣 In the early hours of this morning, the University of Manchester’s buildings on Oxford Road were daubed with red paint. Police are looking at CCTV footage and specialist paint removal contractors have been appointed to restore the sandstone buildings. Manchester Lefist Action, a student group currently protesting the university’s relationship with a weapons manufacturer linked to Israel, denied responsibility for the incident, saying in a statement: “We take no responsibility for this action. However, it does show that more and more students believe that action is more urgent than ever.” Manchester Leftist Action are hosting a demonstration outside the arch this evening.

🌊 Manchester briefly became home to one of England’s largest waterfalls yesterday, after the spell of heavy rain found a hole in the Old Trafford roof. Elsewhere, staff at Night and Day cafe in the Northern Quarter were seen putting out beer pitchers to catch leaks, and Victoria Warehouse was forced to turn away fans of American pop band PVRIS after a massive leak in the venue’s ceiling.

⚽ Manchester United won their first Women’s FA Cup Final yesterday. Four goals — one from Tyldesley’s own Ella Toone, another from Rachel Williams and two from Lucia Garcia — secured the trophy. It’s the first time a club other than Manchester City, Chelsea or Arsenal have won the league since Birmingham City’s victory in 2012.

Home of the week

This three-bedroom home in Wigan has beautiful stained glass windows, a rear garden and a summer house. £395,000.

Our favourite reads

Exposed: the ‘illegal school’ teaching children conspiracy theories — The Times

Investigative journalist Tom Ball goes undercover in a derelict former nightclub in Rusholme, where former teacher Ladan Ratcliffe is teaching 13 local kids to forage and create natural remedies in order to survive a sinister government plot against humanity. It’s one of dozens of illegal schools operating under the radar in the UK, “set up by people radicalised during the Covid-19 pandemic into an anti-state, and sometimes conspiratorial, ideology.”

Fake Tapes, Lies & Late Payments: UK Talent Agent Archie Purnell Accused Of Being “Rogue Trader” — Deadline

Archie Purnell, founder of Bodhi, a talent agency based in Manchester, is accused of lying about his influence in the industry and late payment. Most bizarrely, sources claim he sent fake invites to self-taped auditions that never went anywhere in an attempt to “keep clients happy and burnish Bodhi’s reputation for providing people with a steady stream of leads”. Purnell claims the investigation is a “witch hunt” and has disappeared from social media in light of the revelations.

British Colleges Are Handling Protests Differently. Will It Pay Off? — The New York Times

Students have set up pro-Palestine encampments at more than 15 British universities, including Manchester, echoing a wave of protests on American campuses. But on visiting a protest in Cambridge, which included a wellness circle and a workshop on kite-making, a reporter was struck by their uncontroversial nature and lack of confrontation.

Our to do list

Tuesday

🇵🇱 Last chance to see Warsaw Uprising, a free exhibition in Manchester Central Library that features the memories of those who fought to free Warsaw from German occupation in 1944.

🎭 The King’s Arms in Salford is showing Far From Home Close To Love, a one-man show written and performed by award-winning actor Benjamin Kelm, which tells his story of moving to New York and leaving his old life behind. £7.

Wednesday

🛍️ At Deaf Institute, a group of fashion students at Manchester Metropolitan University are putting on a mini Met Gala. The event features live music, a costume ball and immersive art installations. £11.50.

🎨 Manchester Art Gallery is hosting an informal discussion of two artworks from its collection, which encourages you to consider how you might see your own life experiences mirrored back at you in art.

Thursday 

🔊 Ōdiobā is a new coffee shop and listening room in Stockport from the people who brought you NAM in Ancoats. It has a great selection of natural wines, craft beers, cocktails and high-quality speakers designed to immerse you in music. Find out more here.

🇪🇸 El Rincon de Rafa is a family-run tapas bar tucked away in Deansgate. We recommend trying the sangria, vegan paella and fresh bruschetta. Book a table here.

That’s all for today. Thanks to our sponsor Manchester Museum. Read more about their upcoming exhibition ‘Wild’ and plan your visit.