Popular street food fair cancels just days before first event comes to Rochdale

Photo: Bnenin - stock.adobe.com

Food festival (stock image)

A popular street food fair set to open in Rochdale on Friday (5 April) has been cancelled.

Based in Manchester, the Grub Food Fair was set to come to Rochdale on the first Friday of every month on The Butts where the market is held.

However, with just days to go, the organisers have now pulled out of bringing their popular food fair to the borough, citing a clash with another ‘big street food event’ in the middle of summer, although it is not clear which event this is.

The annual Street Eat Festival takes place on the last weekend of May, bringing an array of delicious food and free entertainment to the Town Hall Square on 25 and 26 May, with the long-established Feel Good Festival – which has a dedicated food village alongside the musical listings – taking place on Saturday 10 August – neither of which would take place during Grub’s scheduling.

The organisers announced in a statement via social media: “We are absolutely gutted to announce that we will no longer be taking Grub to Rochdale as planned this summer and therefore this Friday's event is cancelled.

“The reason for this is that we were not aware that there was already a big street food event scheduled in for the middle of the summer which will clash with our event. It was already a bit of a leap to take a monthly event to Rochdale without this added competition. The root of the issue really is we can't book traders in with this increased risk and the increased likelihood they could take losses or not take enough money to make it worthwhile. It is, at the end of the day, their livelihoods which we cannot risk.

“We are genuinely gutted this is not happening, the site was smashing, the response had been great and everyone we met in Rochdale put a smile on our face. We wish Rochdale Council all the best for the future and good luck with their ongoing efforts to support the city [sic].

“Big apologies to everyone in Rochdale who may be disappointed by this news.”

Grub has been contacted for further comment.

Damian Cooke, Operations Director at RDA, said: “We’re sorry that Grub no longer intend to bring their food market to Rochdale but we have lots of exciting events happening in Rochdale town centre which we will continue to focus on.

“The first ever Artisan Market, which took place on Saturday, was a resounding success. Around 51 traders, nearly half of which were from Rochdale, attended on the day and the many visitors who attended gave excellent feedback. The Artisan Market will return on the last Saturday of every month and is expected to become even more successful as we move into summer.

“We also have a packed events programme running throughout the year, including the Feel Good festival, the Food and Drink Festival and Street Eat, which together draw tens of thousands of people into Rochdale town centre.”