Feyza Kose, who has been running a fruit and veg stall in Chapel Market for seven years, was one of the first customers to try out the new menu at No.74

PIE and mash is on the menu once again – as a new Chapel Market eatery opens its doors from the former site of the beloved M.Manze shop.

M.Manze first opened its branch in the market in 1911 and served traditional pie and mash with liquor and jellied eels for more than 100 years, before being forced to close down in 2019.

Keen to restore the offering to the community, Martin Savage leased the site with his business partner John Gordon, and has reopened it with his family as “No.74 Chapel Market” this week.

“We want to respond to people’s desire to have something simple and classic, which is the pie and mash offer,” Mr Savage told the Tribune.

“But we also understand that this has to adapt. Manze’s offer belongs to the family themselves, and so we’re doing something a little different, but still with reference to the old classic.”

The tiled walls, wooden tables and iconic shopfront “M.Manze” sign will be kept true to their original design, as the shop remains a Grade II-listed building.

Tiled walls and wooden tables inside M.Manze – it has reopened as No.74 Chapel Market

“We want to maintain the memory of the place, the fabric of it. We’ve restored the interior to directly reflect what it looked like previously,” Mr Savage said.

“But there can also be change and as long as we keep it to positive change, that’s the balance we want to strike.”

The shop was taken over by an outlet called Beefsteaks in 2019 which has since closed down, and has been empty since 2023. Mr Savage grew up in County Galway, Ireland, but has family ties to Essex Road, where his grandmother lived. He said that the new menu, devised by his son, would reflect this blend of culture.

He added: “The menu reflects the connection between Ireland and England and the working-class people who move between different communities.We’ll put some different flavours in, and we’ll have a few different flavours of mash. It’s all about being creative and interesting with it – maintain the classic menu but with an Irish twist, which complements the local offer.”

The building’s iconic shopfront signage will be kept

In 2019, when Chapel Market M.Manze’s closed down, there was emotion among pie and mash fanatics who turned up in their hundreds to say goodbye to the famous shop. Some of them had been eating there for their whole lives.

Mr Savage said that he hopes to rebuild that connection in the coming years, establishing themselves within the community.

Feyza Kose, who has been running a fruit and veg stall in Chapel Market for seven years, was one of the first customers to try the new grub.

She told the Tribune: “So many people have come to my stall asking me what’s happening with the pie and mash shop here – it means so much to the community to have this in our market.

“People were really upset about Manze’s closing, there was so much emotional attachment. So this new shop, with the exact same interior, it brings back memories for a lot of people. It’s great business for the market.”

Mr Savage added: “We’ve had hundreds of people popping their heads in the door asking when we’re opening, because people really do want that restoration of a pie and mash shop.

“Obviously, the demography has changed around here but there is still such a solid connection with a lot of working-class people in this area.

“And then when you look at the people who still live in the area who have a connection, they have so many memories of the place. So that connection, to the community and to the place, we want to maintain. But we also have to understand that there can be a new generation who are happy to have a different version of the pie and mash offer.”

No.74 Chapel Market is now open.