Northern Quarter burger bar Almost Famous have not let the blaze that engulfed the Manchester city centre restaurant diminish their entrepreneurial eye, nor their wicked sense of humour.
Almost Famous, on High Street, went up in flames on June 28, causing considerable damage to the second floor and roof, and the property will be closed for the foreseeable future.
But now the bar’s (now decidedly ‘famous’) burgers will be on offer again at Mexican restaurant Luck Lust Liquor & Burn – on the ground floor of the building and run by the same company.
Five Almost Famous burgers have been added to the restaurant’s menu, including tribute burgers Burning Down The House and The Towering Inferno.
There’s even a Fire Alarm Chilli, with more than just a nod or playful wink towards last month’s incident.
Restaurant manager Adam McKenna said: “It’s been an eventful week really, they’ve done an amazing job to get this place back open with all the fire and water damage they had.
“You’ve got to have a laugh about this sort of thing. There’s no managing guidebook on how to deal with a fire, but it’s been a tricky week.”
More than 50 firefighters were rushed to the bar during the blaze, with the fire breaking out in the bars’ kitchen on the second floor.
Customers and staff were safely evacuated from the building, and fire services confirmed no one was hurt.
The damage has caused the owners to look for another site in Manchester, although there are plans in place to do something with the property in future.
Adam added: “We were more than happy to have Famous here. We’re the same company and we’ve already had some of famous’ burgers on our menu, so it was no hassle.”
Almost Famous have also recently opened a new pop-up beach club on Peter Street at the Great Northern, where the bars’ trademark burgers and cocktails are also on offer.
Picture courtesy of Walrus MCR, with thanks.
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