A scurry of squirrels …. two restaurants ……. and the story from my friend Tony .... part 1

Now, this was a fine story in the making and one that challenges that simple observation that there is always a place for originality.

Arno's restaurants, undated

So, in April 2023, the restaurant Street Urchin opened at 72 Gt Ancoats Street, and one of its specials was “English Grey Squirrel”.

At the time I thought that was novel, but then I suspect that squirrels turn up on menus across the country and but Tony may just have come up with a squirrel restaurant that predates Street Urchin by 94 years and just a mile away on Brazennose Street. 

Brazennose Street, 1961

At which point as Tony did the research based on some family memories, I will just hand over to him.

“Hi Andrew, whilst reading the book, ‘Manchester Memories’ the author mentioned that he recalls a squirrel restaurant in Manchester, run by Arno Rolls, have you heard of it at all?  I looked on your site and there is no mention.  

The reason I was so interested was that after my dad left the army, where he qualified as a chef, he worked at the Roll’s Restaurant in Manchester, on Brazennose Street, until it closed around 1962/3. 

He then went into partnership with my uncle (my mum’s brother) and they bought a café in Rusholme on Wilmslow Road, called the Rusholme Snack Bar.  It seemed too much of a coincidence for it not to have been the same place, but my dad never mentioned cooking squirrels.  

I did some investigating and all I could find on Google was an advertising poster for "Roll’s Squirrel Restaurants" (no date) which had two eateries, one on Oxford Street and the other on Brazennose Street, so it was the same place.  

A quick thumb through my directories and I found that in 1929, the restaurant at 29-31 Oxford Street was listed as ‘Roll’s Squirrel Restaurant’, but the one on 46 Brazennose Street was just listed as ‘A Roll, Restaurant’.  

So presumably, by this time he certainly limited his squirrel dishes just at Oxford Street.  By 1954 (when my dad was employed there) he had no restaurant listed on Oxford Street and the Brazennose Street eatery had moved to 44, where it remained until closure, around 1962.  

I have one photo, taken from the Manchester Council image site, that shows the Roll’s in 1961.  

Chorlton squirrels, 2022

I don’t know too much about his time there, other than when it closed, they sold off a lot of catering equipment and dad brought home cutlery, and various kitchenware, some of it, quite fancy such as a silver-plated soup urn.  

He once took my sister to Manchester centre and called into the restaurant and from what she remembered, it was quite up market, catering for Town Hall staff.  

Would you be interested in adding this tale to your site?  I have attached the image site picture, the advert from Google and the cuttings from my directories.  

I also have about six photos from the inside of the restaurant with my dad and a few of the staff”.  

And of course I leapt at the opportunity to tell the story and am looking forward to those pictures. 

Leaving me just to thank Tony for the idea and the research and reiterate no squirrels ended up in a pie or a casserole in this story

Location; Brazennose Street and Oxford Road,

Pictures; advert courtesy of Tony, Brazenose Street south side, H. Milligan, 1961, 00455, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass and two squirrels not in a restaurant, 2022, from the collection of Balzano