Kirkstall road favourite POCO has revealed plans to open a second site in Leeds and we're very excited about it.
First opened in 2018 by the team behind popular Italian kitchen Culto in Meanwood, it's developed a big following for its different flavoured arancini, as well as dishes like focaccine, fried Sicilian calzone and Pizza Al Taglio.
Sicilian street food treats on display in the window at POCO's original store on Kirkstall Road / Image: POCO
But that's not all they do - not by a long way. As well as a host of gorgeous savoury treats, they've also developed quite the reputation for their sweets, which range from classic cannolis and warm brioche filled with gelatp, to sweet arancini balls and oven-baked bombolones.
Honestly, every single thing they create here looks incredible. So we can understand why there's a lot of demand in Leeds for a second POCO opening.
A selection of sweet Sicilian treats including bombolone donuts - filled with Vanilla, Chocolate, Pistachio, Nutella cream and even with Whiskey and Bailey’s sometimes / Image: POCO
The POCO team announced their big news this week, encouraging their followers to guess where the new site will be in order to win a yummy prize.
Sharing the news on Instagram on Monday 9 August, they said: "Poco Number 2 is coming to Leeds!"
"Yes guys, this is happening.
"After over three years since opening our first shop on Kirkstall Road, we are finally ready to expand and bring Poco to a new location in Leeds.
Sweet Sicilian arancini balls with pistachio, almond and Nutella / Image: POCO
"We’ve got the keys now and can’t wait to transform this beautiful space into your favourite Sicilian street food destination 😉 Fingers crossed, we’ll be open in a month or so.
"Also, the first person to guess right where Poco Nr. 2 will be located will get a yummy prize from us
Guesses in the comments so far are limited to Headingley, but there are no obvious congratulations in POCO's reply so we're guessing it's not going to be there.
A special birthday request: POCO's moist Italian sponge with vanilla cream loaded with fresh seasonal berries and homemade profiteroles filled with cream / Image: POCO
It shouldn't be too long to wait now until the location is revealed, though.
TO keep up to date with the new opening, make sure to follow POCO on Instagram if you don't already.
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Leeds Bradford Airport strikes will NOT go ahead following ‘late offer’ over pay
Clementine Hall
This weekend's strikes at Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled.
Around 130 workers were set to walk out this weekend, Unite said, but this has been suspended to allow air traffic controllers to consider a new pay offer.
The Unite members planning on to go on strike were a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute had recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity which led to the decision to strike.
However, as of yesterday 15 October, the workers have been given new pay offers from the airport and the strikes will not take place to allow a ballot on the offers.
Air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff are being balloted separately on their respective offers.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "After receiving offers from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have suspended this week’s strike action in good faith to allow members to vote on pay deals.”
In a statement, Leeds Bradford Airport said: "While the ballot process continues with certain members of our frontline colleagues, we remain hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved and that an agreement can be reached which works for everyone involved.
"Regardless of the outcome of this ballot, LBA has a robust contingency plan in place and will be operating as normal this weekend.
"Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and reliable experience for customers while maintaining safe and efficient airport operations."
Georgina Pellant -
10th August 2021 
