Paul
Heathcote has put his plans for a new £1 million
restaurant on hold because of the state of the economy.
Building work had already started on The
Elliot which was to be located in the building vacated
by Simply Heathcotes in March after 12 years. The original
plans for an October launch have been scrapped with
the Preston-based chain, who also own the Olive
Press, Grado and
London Road, vowing
to revisit the project in early 2009.
The
Thai Lounge blessed by monks
(10th
Aug)
The
Thai Lounge in Whitefield was blessed by Thai monks
from a Temple on Sunday 10th August. The monks also
adjusted the karma of the restaurant
Liam
Gallagher's 1955 Gibson guitar, Roger Taylor's coat,
Red Hot Chili Peppers skateboard, Elvis Presley's jacket,
Ray Charles' tuxedo, Arctic Monkey's twead suits and
John Lennon's teapot are just some of the new memorabilia
added to the massive collection at Hard Rock Cafe in
The Printworks.
The
Thai Lounge charity night for Christies
(18th
Jun)
The
Thai Lounge raised over £1500 in a charity night
for Christies, to specifically raise money for the research
in lymphoma. Phoenix Thai Boxing Gym put on a display
and there was also a performance from Ko, a former employee
of Tiffany’s, the world famous ladyboy show from
Thailand. The night was finished with a Thai evening
market outside.
Spicy
Hut has become the first restaurant in
Rusholme to win Manchester
city council's Environmental Business Pledge gold award,
after reducing 30% of their energy usage. The excellent
curry house has installed low energy lighting, cooking
and refrigeration equipment, as well as using a Smart
car for deliveries and introducing recycling schemes.
Shahenshah
fined for cockroaches and mice (14th
Aug)
Rusholme
curry house Shahenshah
has been fined £31,000 - one of the largest fines
ever given to a Manchester restaurant - after cockroaches
and mice droppings were found in the dirty kitchen in
April.
Negresco
closes down (12th
Aug)
Negresco,
the gothic Italian restaurant on Deansgate has closed
after only being open for 8 months. The Liverpool based
chain has been sold by parent company, Korova, who are
struggling financially
The
Naz fined for cockroach infestation (29th
Jul)
The
Naz Takeaway & Restaurant in Eccles have
been fined almost £18,000 for repeated infestations
of cockroaches in the kitchen after inspections in August
and December 2006. They have since passed recent council
inspections
San
Carlo enjoys record profits (30th
Jun)
Italian
restaurant San Carlo
has enjoyed record profits for the first half of the
year with profits doubling from the same period in 2007
to £1.2 million. The group now plans on opening
a Liverpool branch.
Arcobaleno
opens (28th
Jun)
Italian
restaurant Arcobaleno has opened, where
the ill-fated Moon Bar and Moonlight once stood
Rat
& beetle infestation at Krispy Fried Chicken (13th
Jun)
Krispy
Fried Chicken in Levenshulme have been fined
£2,700 after rats and dozens of large beetles
were found by environmental officers. The takeaway has
since reopened although inspectors have since issued
a further warning as conditions are still below standards
Tampopo
fined for accident in the kitchen (7th
Jun)
Tampopo
at The Trafford
Centre have been fined £15,000 after an accident
in 2006 where a chef slipped on the wet floor and scalded
his foot in hot cooking oil
Armed
robbery at Frankie & Bennys (2nd
Jun)
3
raiders armed with knives escaped with cash after a
robbery at Frankie & Benny's in
Rochdale
Ramsons
crowned best in North West (29th
May)
Consumer
watchdog Which's Good Food Guide have named Ramsons
in Ramsbottom North West Restaurant of the Year for
the second year in a row. It goes through to the national
finals in July.
Ithaca
opens (17th
May)
multi-million
pound Japanese restaurant Ithaca has
finally opened its doors to the public
The
Princess On Portland with its fine-dining Brasserie
On Portland restaurant has been bought by Dublin-based
Harcourt Developments for £8 million. They plan
to spend £3 million on upgrading it.
Cottage
Tandoori fined for food hygiene offences (7th
May)
Cottage
Tandoori in Walkden has been fined £4,500
for 5 food hygiene offences which included a fly infested
kitchen, food stored outside and decorating in the kitchen
whilst chefs prepared food.
Eyck
Zimmer leaves The River Restaurant at The Lowry (2nd
May)
Eyck
Zimmer, the multi award-winning Executive Head Chef
at The Lowry Hotel's River
Restaurant, leaves his post in June to
take up a new role at the Four Seasons Hotel in Lisbon.
Premium
Bars & Restaurants relocate to Manchester (2nd
May)
The
Premium Bars and Restaurants group, who own The
Living Room chain have moved their Head
Quarters from Newcastle to Hale.
Al
Bilal fined for Cockroach infestation (9th
April)
Rusholme
restaurant Al Bilal
has been fined £13,200 for a cockroach infestation
in August. Closed down by environmental officers, it
has since re-opened following two subsequent inspections.