Street vendors will bring the flavour to Wigan Feast at The Mills

The first four experts cooking up a storm at Wigan’s highly anticipated food experience will be Hastie’s Crispy Chicken, famous for its mouth-watering 24-hour brined chicken and will offer this along with wings, burgers and unique sides; Liverpool’s Christakis, delicious Greek street food classics with salads, halloumi fries and wraps; pizza artisans Dough So Good who currently pop up at markets across the townand region with their authentic Neapolitan wood-smoked pizzas; and Orrell’s The Old Bank offering coffee, teas and cakes.

Owen James, of Hastie’s, said: “Being Wigan born and bred, Feast at The Mills is a brilliant opportunity to get on board with an exciting development on the local food scene, and when I heard about it, I knew Hastie’s had to be part of it.

"We can’t wait to get going later this month and bring our famous chicken to my hometown.”

Adding to the food offering at Feast at the Mills will be a dedicated performance space for local bands, artists and DJs where the best local talent, from Northern Soul to House, acoustic to jazz, are encouraged to put themselves forward.

There will also be two bars serving an array of beers, spirits and cocktails. One of the old weaving sheds has been renamed The Ritz in honour of the long-gone Wigan landmark; with a large projector and screen, that will also be available for all kinds of events.

This outdoor and indoor street food market is the first of its kind for Wigan and will be open for the public to visit and enjoy every Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday all day from later this month until the end of the year.

Feast at the Mills represents the first stage of Wigan-based Heaton Group’s plans to redevelop the whole Eckersley Mills site, acting as an incubator for the permanent food hall, currently under development in the neighbouring Mill One building.

Alex McCulloch, Development Manager at Heaton Group, said: “We are excited to share the news that these four fantastic food vendors will be part of Feast at The Mills – they each bring something different and will provide real quality to the overall experience every weekend.

“We’ve said all along that we intend to position Feast at The Mills as Wigan’s Weekend Destination and having these pop-up vendors on board cements that sentiment.”

The entire Eckersley Mills site covers a vast 17 acres and is one of the largest undeveloped brownfield sites in the Northwest.

The redevelopment of the site is one of the most ambitious projects to take place in Wigan for decades and will bring back into use long under-used and even derelict Victorian buildings for offices, homes (including a hotel), leisure and hospitality.

Food vendors or artists who are interested in Feast at The Mills can go to https://feastatthemills.co.uk or contact [email protected]