Pollen joins Kampus

The Ancoats bakery is setting up a pastry kitchen and café in HBD and Capital&Centric’s £250m Manchester neighbourhood.

Pollen will be taking 2,600 sq ft on the ground floor of Kampus. This new flagship location will offer an expanded brunch menu and an open kitchen – so you can watch the bakers in action. There will also be space for workshops and supper clubs.

The interior of the new space is designed by NoChintz, who want to fill the space with soft colours and organic textures. Fit out is set to begin in October.

Pollen aims to open in early 2022.

Baked goods from Pollen. Credit: via Font Comms

“We’d been looking for a place in the city to grow for a while and Kampus really appealed to us,” said Hannah Calvert, Pollen co-founder. “The location right next to the canal is perfect and it’s rare to find somewhere with such a strong sense of community and independent spirit, where we’ll be side by side with other like-minded businesses.

“Alongside all the usual grab and go Pollen favourites we’re going to be expanding the brunch menu, with lots of local seasonal produce and some exciting new creations. The support we’ve received from the Manchester community over the years has been incredible, so it’s great to start the next chapter with a new cafe, even more cakes and pastries in a pretty incredible setting.”

Adam Higgins with Capital&Centric called Pollen a “Manchester treasure.”

“They struck a winning formula with their amazing hand-made produce and it showed with their loyal following willing to queue round the block for hours,” Higgins said. “It’s a massive coup for us to be bringing their famous bread and bakes right into the heart of the city centre at Kampus and we’re proud they chose to be part of our growing community of indie businesses. It’ll be great for our residents to be able to pop downstairs and enjoy a coffee and a pastry in the morning or for those who work nearby to grab a loaf or stop by for lunch.”

Kampus is features 40,000 sq ft of commercial space and several apartment blocks. Current retail tenants include General Store. Among the new residential spaces are The Stack and two Victorian shipping warehouses that the Kampus crew have transformed into apartments.

Architects involved in the Kampus project include Exterior Architecture, shedkm and Chapman Taylor.