Many of our beloved local restaurants are once again gathering together to help raise money for Greater Manchester’s homeless community this winterthrough the vital homeless relief scheme, StreetSmart.
While homelessness remains a pressing issue all year round, the prevailing social crisis always comes to the forefront as we approach the colder months and, as they have done every year for more than two decades, Manchester’s hospitality industry is trying to do its bit to combat the problem.
Launching StreetSmart winter 2023 drive this month, an initiative which encourages restaurants in the area to generate funds for homeless people all across Greater Manchester, many of our beloved food spots in the city centre and beyond will be asking diners to get involved in the simplest way imaginable.
This year marking the 25th anniversary of the StreetSmart scheme in Manchester, a total of 16 different restaurants are taking part by simply adding £1 pound to every bill at the end of their meal, with all the money going directly to helping curb rough sleeping wherever possible.
A truly wonderful initiative we can all get behind, we’re sure you’ll agree and given it is now a long-standing tradition amongst the Manchester food scene, it’s great to see more and more venues getting involved with this charitable drive.
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In previous years, StreetSmart has seen an incredible £34,000 raised by Manchester restaurants and with so many pressures on homeless charities right now (with demand for beds and support having sadly soared over the last 12 months) the StreetSmart team are keen to make this a record-breaking year.
The funds raised each go straight towards the critical work of organisations local to the region, including Centrepoint Manchester, a youth homelessness charity, and The Booth Centre, a community centre for rough sleepers located over in Cheetham Hill.
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All of these homegrown charities and initiatives aim to provide a bed and personal support for anyone who is sleeping on the streets or at imminent risk of homelessness. By simply adding a pound to your bill, you could provide someone with a bed for the night and contribute to making a huge difference overall.
More importantly, though, the charities also focus on helping individuals break the cycle, regain their dignity and rebuild their lives via positive action, as well as providing crisis and emergency shelter and food during the current cost of living crisis.
With the national scheme sponsored by LandAid for 2023 — a national organisation which invests over £2 million in projects to end youth homelessness every year —they are hoping to have more restaurants sign up than ever; here is the full list of those taking part in Greater Manchester so far:
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mana – Ancoats
Hawksmoor – Deansgate
Tampopo – Albert Square
Tampopo – Corn Exchange
Banyan – Corn Exchange
Banyan – Spinningfields
Manahatta – Deansgate
BOX – Deansgate
Bottega by San Carlo at Selfridges -Exchange Square
20 Stories – Spinningfields
Street Urchin – Ancoats
HOME Bar and Kitchen – First Street
The Lead Station – Chorlton
Tariff and Dale – Northern Quarter
Stretford Canteen – Stretford
Thankfully, there’s plenty of time to get involved before the end of the year either as a customer or a business, as restaurants that want to join and potentially transform lives can do so by getting in touch with [email protected] or [email protected].
StreetSmart has raised over £10 million since its foundation back in 1998 and more than 50 different homelessness charities now benefit each year, with funds supporting services such as beds, housing, mental health advice and employment support. The importance of their work cannot be overstated.
Credit: The Manc GroupMore Manc restaurants are being urged to come forward and take part.
Speaking on the 2023 scheme, StreetSmart’s Director Glenn Pougnet said: “We are so grateful to the local restaurants who have come together to make a difference this year and we know that the generosity of Greater Mancunians will play a huge part too.
“Sadly, it is always the poorest in society who are most deeply affected by challenges like the cost of living crisis… Our mission to eradicate homelessness from the streets remains firmly at the heart of what we do at StreetSmart, and we’d love to welcome even more restaurants to the scheme this Christmas. Please get in touch!”
As for local hospitality, Michelin-Starred Ancoats restaurant mana’s Chef Patron, Simon Martin, said: “The team at mana are keen to work with StreetSmart again this winter. We’re proud of our quiet corner of Manchester, but it does not shelter us from the reality of homelessness. We feel a responsibility to promote such a meaningful cause, knowing that real action is being taken to improve lives.”
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Well said. Now get out there, grab something to eat and leave not only with a full belly but with the sense that you’ve helped do your bit. This isn’t a Tesco advert but every little bit really does help. That’s why we’re proud to see people all around the city trying to tackle this issue year in, year out.
Featured Image — StreetSmart/Helen Davies (via Flickr)
Eats
Chester Zoo’s award-winning gastro pub is extending its opening hours due to ‘phenomenal demand’
Danny Jones
Chester Zoo’s much-loved restaurant, The Oakfield, is set to extend its opening hours for the rest of the year following what they have described as ‘phenomenal demand’ from the public.
The award-winning gastro pub situated within the zoo’s grounds has been popular with visitors and Cheshire locals in general ever since it was lovingly restored in 2018, with footfall increasing as park numbers also continue to climb.
A Grade II listed building, The Oakfield was actually first opened all the way back in 1931 by Chester Zoo‘s founder, George Mottershead, and once housed everything from lions, bears, chimpanzees, pelicans, parrots and more.
Cut to today and it’s simply home to good food, a great drinks selection and wonderful service in line with Chester Zoo’s equally high standards when it comes to animal welfare and conservation – and now the restaurant is giving guests what they want be opening on additional days and for longer.
STAY IN THE ZOO UNTIL 11pm EVERY FRIDAY & SUNDAY! 🙌
That's right, you can now spend your Friday and Sunday evenings surrounded by 37,000 animals at our award-winning pub, The Oakfield
Located in the heart of the zoo, you can enjoy delicious classic pub dishes while taking in… pic.twitter.com/kdv8aGkjaj
As per an announcement from the zoo, the doors of The Oakfield will now be open every Friday and Sunday evening from 5–11pm.
Their inaugural Sunday service takes place on 12 May with doors open from 5pm and the last table reservation being taken at 19:30 – and trust us, this place can book up quickly. But don’t worry, walk-ins are still welcome and the bar serves until 10pm.
Naturally, the menu features big Sunday roasts as well as classic pub dishes such as The Oakfield’s signature steak burger, battered fish and chips and sausage and mash, just to name a few.
As for the newly rolled out Friday nights, doors open once again at 5pm with the last food bookings available until 20:45pm. The menu’s mouthwatering in this instance too, featuring the likes of Welsh black ribeye steak, a braised lamb shoulder dish and breaded aubergine with katsu curry sauce.
In the years since its return to glory, it’s won various accolades including the regional Taste Cheshire Awards and even international recognition from Traveller’s Choice Awards hosted by TripAdvisor – who just so happened to rank Chester Zoos’ gastro pub in the top 10% of restaurants in the entire world.
Speaking on the announcement, Food and Beverage Operations Manager at The Oakfield, Chloe Gill, said: “Our Friday evening trial proved to be super popular. So, in response to the phenomenal demand we’ve had, and as we head into summer months and begin to enjoy lighter evenings, we’re thrilled to extend our opening hours to include not just Fridays but Sunday evenings too!
“Our guests can enjoy our sun garden while taking in the sights and sounds of nature, brimming with bird song and the majestic roars of lions in the distance – all while knowing every sip of their drink or bite of their food supports our charity, helping to create a brighter future where wildlife thrives.”
Better still, it’s no easier to find than ever thanks to the zoo’s new events entrance on Caughall Road, Upton, which leads you straight up to the gastro pub.
If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can book a table HERE.
Lead singer of Aussie band blasts mystery Manc café for rude and ‘aggressive’ treatment by staff member
Danny Jones
The lead singer of Australian indie and alternative band, The Buoys, has come out to criticise a mystery Manchester café after receiving rude and ‘aggressive’ treatment from a member of staff.
Lead vocalist and rhythm guitar player, Zoe Catterall, hopped on the band’s TikTok account to vent and indirectly inform others about the as-yet-unnamed coffee shop ahead of the group’s show at Gorilla in the city centre this week.
Noting that much of her family originates from Manchester and she usually gets “excited” by the “sense of home” away from home whenever she comes here on tour, her visit this time around was sadly marred somewhat by the treatment by one unknown member of staff.
As Catterall details in the video, despite going out of her way to be polite and familiarise herself with a new city centre spot as a tourist, she was unfortunately met by the purportedly blunt female worker, who “rolled her eyes” at a simple question and a general rude demeanour. Here’s how she says it went down:
Admitting she “was not expecting the response that I got”, she goes on to detail the woman finger-pointing and exhibiting just a generally rude tone.
Initially suspecting that she might be holding up a queue or irking the staff in some other way, she eventually goes on to describe her behaviour as “being an arsehole for no reason” and reiterating that you “don’t have to be that mean”.
Adding that she was welling up and feeling overwhelmed by the whole incident after a jet-lagged morning without any breakfast or caffeine in her system yet, she eventually felt so uncomfortable that she decided to grab her coffee and go decompress elsewhere.
Moreover, after explaining that she ended up going on to the café’s Google reviews out of curiosity, it turned out that the Manchester spot had racked up quite a few people who also had negative experiences and rude or ‘aggressive’ treatment by staff.
We’re not going to join in on the speculation but the comments have some ideas.
To Zoe and anyone else who may have unfortunately been on the receiving end of this rude individual’s service, we’re sorry you had to put up with that and we assure you it doesn’t represent the majority of Manchester hospitality.
And for those trying to help get to the bottom of who the mystery Manc coffee shop/employee was, we hope it serves as a kick up the backside for whoever it may be and a reminder that it takes virtually nothing to be nice.
All that being said, we can’t think of any better way of helping Zoe and co. shrug it off besides plugging their gig supporting fellow Aussie alt-rockers Vacations at one of our favourite venues on Thursday night.
If you fancy going along you can grab a ticket HERE. Oh, and if you think you know which Manchester café might be, don’t go and be rude to anyone yourself – we’re better than that. We’re sure they’ll come across it themselves soon enough, don’t worry.