Greens, the much-loved neighbourhood restaurant founded by celebrity chef Simon Rimmer, has announced it has closed after more than three decades.
The Didsbury branch of the acclaimed vegetarian restaurant has said that it has closed down with immediate effect.
The restaurant has cited rising costs as the reason for its closure, with its rent alone going up 35%.
Its newer site in Sale, which recently earned itself a place on the Rate Good Roasts Top 10 Sunday Roasts list, will remain open.
Greens was launched by Simon Rimmer and Simon Connolly in 1990 and for three decades has prided itself on ‘terrifying carnivores’.
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Simon Rimmer has shared an emotional video message this afternoon, saying it’s a ‘heartbreaking day’.
He told his followers: “Well, this is a very sad day. After 33 years of running Greens in Didsbury, we’ve unfortunately had to close the door.
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“Our landlords have increased our rent by the region of 35%. The cost of raw materials, the cost of heat and light and power, employing people, and general food costs, have meant that unfortunately the business has become unviable.
“So with immediate effect, we’ve unfortunately shut the door. It’s a heartbreaking day.
“I’d like to thank every single member of staff that’s worked for us over the years and every single customer that’s come through the door.
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“Our amazing suppliers, our neighbours, our friends, and anybody who has ever set foot inside the door.
“I can’t believe I’m actually doing this message. Big love. Thank you for the last 33 years and hopefully we’ll see you in Sale if not here. Lots of love.”
Greens wrote on Instagram: “With great sadness we have had to close the doors on Greens Didsbury for good after 33 fantastic years.
“We can no longer make it work – our landlord has increased our rent by 35%, that together with increases in power, food and staff costs have made it impossible for us to continue we’d like to thank every single customer, member of staff, supplier and our friends and neighbours for being part of the journey.
“Our sister restaurant in Sale is still open and we’d love to see you all there to help the Greens story continue. If you have a reservation with us we’ll be in touch.
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“Love, thanks and keep terrifying the carnivores. Simon and Simon.”
Fans have been gutted at the news, with Gary Usher’s Elite Bistros writing: “So so sad! You’ll be missed in Didsbury for sure. Sending love to the team.”
Another wrote: “Devastated for you all and myself. We regularly make the 30 mile there and back trip for the luxury of being able to order anything rather than be faced with a sad girl veggie lasagne.”
Someone else posted on X: “Oh no! I’m devastated about this! My favourite place… so sorry you’ve had to close.
“We will definitely come to Sale (or come back again, I should say, we’ve been before) but we loved the original @greensveggie. Crap start to the year all round.”
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.
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.