Former Corrie actor backed pubco to add two further sites
Jamie Langrish, Jonny Booth and former Coronation Street actor Rupert Hill (who played Jamie Baldwin in the soap) – who together own the Parlour, in Chorlton – claim to be in the “advanced stages” of taking on a Robinsons leasehold and an undisclosed freehold.
Langrish told PubFood that the freehold would be branded as another Parlour pub, while the food offer at the leasehold would centre on a single food product.
The trio already run the Castle, in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and the Bakers Vaults, in Stockport – both of which are Robinsons pubs.
They also operate Gullivers, a JW Lees leasehold adjacent to the Castle.
Farm produce
The Parlour relies on food sourced from the Manchester Veg People – a co-operative that sells produce from seven farms around the Greater Manchester area – and local allotments.
Langrish told PubFood that all of their pubs carry similar themes, but remain distinctly unique.
He said: “The Parlour is a proper gastropub, whereas the Castle and Gullivers are music venues.
“The Bakers Vaults – which we took on and reopened in July after a major refurbishment – does food, but the kitchen is too small for it to be anything like the Parlour, so we just offer gourmet hotdogs.
“We ran a hotdog pop called Parlour Dogs at the Beech Inn, in Chorlton, over the summer – and it was so successful that we transferred the idea to the Bakers.”
British style
Langrish explained that the hotdogs, which are made by Chorlton butcher Frost, contain meat that’s been ground four times – and the toppings are all very British.
“We didn’t want to go down the American route, so we offer toppings like Welsh rarebit, Bloody Mary, and blue cheese with bacon.”
The menu features a variety of other hotdogs as well. Balti Dog, for instance, comes with classic Balti sauce, buttered onions, fresh coriander and lemon (£7).
Club Dog, meanwhile, includes smoked chicken, dried cured smoked streaky bacon, romaine lettuce, beef tomato, egg, mayo and buttered onions (£8).
Puppy Dog Platters, snacks and sides are also available. There are two dessert items – a cheesecake made with Pimm’s, cucumber, mint, strawberry and Hobnobs (£4), and double chocolate brownies (£3).
Reception
Langrish said that customers were initially surprised by the hotdog-only menu, but have since come round to the idea.
“Trade has gone really well – much better than we expected. Our next leasehold will definitely offer food and it will again be themed around a single product – not hotdogs though.”
