Back in the summer, the team behind Trof, Gorilla and Albert Hall took over a former Swan Street MOT station, garage depot and tree lined forecourt for their latest venture.
Ramona, opposite Mackie Mayor food market and Band on the Wall, will be home to a Detroit pizzeria and bakery, a margarita bar, wood grill, beer garden, coffee counter and stage.
The restaurant and bar is housed in a large warehouse, surrounded by an enclosed beer garden.
A second building – the MOT station, in the backyard – will, once able, host live entertainment and a large taproom.
Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular pizza with a thick crust, and it’s something the team fell in love with on Stateside trips.
The unusual shape has interesting origins.
At the height of the auto industry’s power, blue steel industrial utility trays could be found in virtually any factory in Detroit.
But, the story goes, Gus Guerra, who was working at Buddy’s buy tadalafil india Pizzeria in 1946, figured that he could make a decent Sicilian-style pizza in a blue steel utility tray – and he was right.
“When we got back from our last trip, we decided we needed to bring proper Detroit pizzeria to Manchester,” the team explain in their blog.
“So when we found out a former garage was available in the Ancoats, we knew this would be the perfect home for Detroit pizza, done the Mancunian way.”
Ramona will include traditional toppings such as triple pepperoni as well as offering vegan pizza – and they’re even making their own vegan cheese for it, which they have described on social media as “next level”.
Soon you’ll be able to try it for yourself, as Ramona will cater for delivery, pick-up and drive through orders when it launches in the coming weeks.