The tradtional interior of 74 Chapel Market

A NEW restaurant which had vowed to carry on the spirit of the famous Manze pie and mash shop has closed down within weeks of opening.

The owners of 74 Chapel Market could not be reached this week but a message on its social media feed announced that it was “no longer able to keep on trading”.

It had opened to much excitement in the same premises as the old M.Manze shop – the family-run business which has sold pie and mash with liquor for decades until its closure in 2019.

It is little more than a month since the Tribune interviewed the owners about their hopes for the new venture.

Martin Savage, who opened the shop with business partner John Gordon, had said he wanted to do something “different” to Manze’s old menu.

The classic M.Manze sign – part of its listed status

“We’ll put some different flavours in and have a few different flavours of mash,” he said, adding that he expected a level of backlash from traditional pie and mash die-hards, who love the traditional servings.

“If we get it right, we get the balance right, and the people who want it to succeed will be our customers,” Mr Savage said.

“And as the saying goes, you can’t please everybody all the time. So we can’t fool ourselves.”

But when the Tribune published news of the shop’s opening on our own social media pages, a torrent of messages fuelled a lively debate on what customers expected from a classic pie and mash shop – the number of which has declined across London with Castle’s in Camden Town one of the few remaining.

Many of thos commenting were “distraught” that gravy had been poured on a pie and mash lunch instead of liquor.

Others wanted to know where the jellied eels were, and more questioned what they saw as expensive prices.

The Tribune’s coverage last month

A listed building, 74 Chapel Market still has the same iconic shopfront and old-school interior which was a staple of its 108 year existence.

The shop was first opened in 1911 by Michele Manze,an Italian immigrant. Manzes pies are handmade and created in the restaurant daily.

It remained a family-run business until its closure.

At the time, rents and the changing nature of the Angel area were blamed for the need to shut up shop. A queue of people arrived for one last pie before the shutters came down.

Following its closure, a restaurant called Beefsteaks opened in the shop, but that also proved to be a short-lived business.

The Manze name still remains at three shops in London, and they can be found in Tower Bridge, Peckham and Sutton.

74 Chapel Market’s post on Instagram said: “Thank you to everyone who came through and a big thank you to our staff, without them we couldn’t of done it at all.”