Manchester café has queues out the door as it hands out free drinks

A Manchester café has had people lining the streets in order to grab a free coffee to coincide with National Coffee Day today (May 24).

To celebrate the occasion, New Zealand faves Allpress have been giving out free coffee at their Manchester coffee shop in the NOMA district, near to Victoria Station, since 8am. Opened last year, the venue also features a barista school where people and businesses can perfect the art of making a good cup of Java.

The specialty coffee roasters already provide beans to major restaurants, bars and cafes around the world, including around 40 in Manchester alone. But the NOMA cafe is the first northern venue for Allpress, serving their popular drinks alongside freshly-made cakes and light bites.

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Situated on Redfern Street, the coffee shop will be giving out coffee to go on the house all day today as part of their new ‘Free Coffee Fridays’ initiative, which will see them offer free coffees to customers at many of the venues that stock Allpress beans across the country each week.

The scheme has already been confirmed to be coming to Brew Twenty Three in Birmingham, and returning to the north at Bondi Bowls in Manchester’s Kampus district on June 14.

Speaking about the reason to open their first northern coffee house in Manchester, Tom Hobday, Northern UK Manager at Allpress Espresso, previously told the Manchester Evening News: “We were drawn to Manchester because it’s a hub of activity. The area we are in really feels like it is up-and-coming.”

He added: “And, really, the Northern Quarter and Ancoats are just round the corner. You’re actually much closer to everything than you think, without being literally in the Northern Quarter, which I feel a lot of people are actually starting to move away from these days.

"I really feel like NOMA could be that next big step, we’re at least hoping so. It’s a walkable distance from the city centre to go for some coffee or 'egg and soldiers' in the morning.”

Started out in Auckland, New Zealand in 1989, Allpress opened its first UK store in London in 2010. Manchester’s Another Heart to Feed, Erst, Carhartt, Patagonia, and Campanio are amongst those that they provide coffee beans to.

Allpress is located at Redfern Building, Redfern Street, Manchester, M4 4AH.