Popular pizzeria Rudy's Pizza will be expanding its Manchester footprint with another site in the city centre.
The brand's third city centre restaurant will be based in the former Dawson's Music & Sounds shop on Portland Street and will continue to serve up their popular pizzas, famous for being cooked for 60 seconds in a Stefano Ferrara oven. The 8,000 sqft location will seat up to 120 covers and will also feature a brand new pizza school where budding pizza makers can learn the Rudy's way.
It has been eight years since the pizza concept first launched on Ancoats' Cutting Room Square, and four since it opened its second site on Peter Street. The new spot will be the sixth in Greater Manchester following openings in Didsbury, Chorlton and Sale.
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Rudy’s Pizza Academy will take just over half the space at Portland Street, providing a structured training programme open to both experienced pizza chefs, wishing to learn the Rudy’s way, and to those completely new to making pizza. Every new member of Rudy’s back-of-house team member will start their journey at the Academy.
Rudy’s Fast-Track Pizzaiolo Programme will combine both practical training, theory on the aspects of a Neapolitan pizza, and extensive knowledge sharing about ingredients. Meanwhile, the Academy will welcome over 100 pizza chefs in its first year.
Sharing the news on Instagram, Rudy's posted a series of work-in-progress shots, giving followers a glimpse at the vast site on Portland Street. The new central location is just a stone's throw from Rudy's site on Peter Street and features floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
Jos Goncalves, manager at Rudy's Portland Street, said: “We are delighted to announce that our next Rudy’s pizzeria will be located on Manchester’s bustling Portland Street. Manchester has been home to the Rudy’s famiglia since we first opened in Ancoats in 2015, and we can’t wait to open our latest pizzeria, with the addition of our first Pizza Academy in the city this spring."
Rudy's post breaking the news on social media read: "We’re on site knocking down walls and arguing over where to put the THREE?! pizza ovens, on their way from Naples for this huuuuge pizzeria in the heart of Manchester.
"Our new pizza palace on Portland Street will be home to our first ever pizza school, where budding and brand new Pizzaioli can learn the Rudy's way. More on that soon.
"Pizza For All, As always, grab a pizza on the house when we open (May-ish), sign-up via link in bio. First come, first served."
The business has been serving up a range of authentically cooked pizzas since 2015 and first opened its doors in Ancoats. Since then, the pizzeria has opened 16 sites across the UK in locations including Soho, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham.
Born out of passion for pizza, Rudy’s follows the authentic Neapolitan tradition of pizza making, serving classic recipes such as Marinara, Margherita and Calabrese – all originating from Naples. Dough is made fresh daily using Caputo ‘00’ flour which ferments for at least 24 hours, alongside a roster of quality ingredients including San Marzano tomatoes grown next to Mount Vesuvius.
As is the case with all of their new openings, Rudy's likes to give its fans and new customers a chance to try one of their Neapolitan pizzas on the house to mark the occasion. There will be a 5,000 pizzas to claim on a first-come-fist-serve basis and pizza lovers can bag theirs via the Rudy's website.
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