A popular Jamaican street food takeaway in Manchester’s Northern Quarter is being forced to close its doors after its building was sold to new owners.
Currently housed inside the Ride Low building on Church Street, Eat n’ Sweet has been a fixture here since 2014 – but its owners are on the hunt for a new space, having been given just six weeks’ notice to find somewhere else to go.
Renowned for cooking up some of the best curry goat in the city, Eat n’ Sweet is headed up by husband and wife team Dean and Marianne Ricketts and regularly has queues stretching out of the door.
Now with a move-out date now set for 13 April, they are appealing to customers and other local businesses nearby to help them find somewhere new to go and continue their roaring trade.
Curry goat, rice and peas with veg and pasta at Eat n’ Sweet. / Image: The Manc Eats
Curry goat, rice and peas with veg and pasta at Eat n’ Sweet. / Image: The Manc Eats
Co-owner Marianne Ricketts tells us: “We’ve looked around at some things in town but the prices are ridiculous. We’re an independent business, you know.
“In the interim, if we don’t find anything we do have a pop-up van but we don’t know, we’ve seen a few spots but with licensing a lot of areas are restricted within the city centre.”
She adds, however, that their real goal is to find a new shop and that they’d much rather find a new home this way.
With room for just three people to sit and eat at once, their current home inside the Ride Low building (itself a fixture on Church Street for three decades) is small but mighty, with crowds flocking into their tiny corner kitchen takeaway in their droves.
It’s the sort of place where everyone seems to know each other, and as we sit and eat our lunch of tender curried goat, rice and peas, ackee and salt fish, we overhear each person ask Dean as they place their order and pay at the counter: “Have you found a new space yet?”
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Evidently, it has a big following, and it’s not hard to see why. Food is cooked freshly every day by co-owner Dean, who refuses to cut any corners and seasons and marinades all meat on the menu for 24 hours before serving it up to customers. Marianne describes him as their ‘chef extraordinaire’.
On the menu, you’ll find everything from snacks like fried dumplings and patties as well as fried and jerk chicken, whilst elsewhere there’s a full Jamaican dinners section with the likes of curry goat, oxtail, curried chicken, brown stew and jerk chicken.
A proper authentic Carribbean spot, it would be a shame to see this gem disappear. If you have a unit or know someone who might be able to help, owners are appealing for you to get in touch with them via their Instagram page here.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Eats
A long-standing Italian restaurant in Trafford has sadly announced its imminent closure
Danny Jones
Another day, another bit of unfortunate hospitality news, as long-standing Greater Manchester restaurant, Little Italy in Timperley, has announced it is closing permanently very soon.
The Trafford favourite, which has been serving locals for nearly 20 years, has informed regular diners that it will sadly be closing its doors for good, with Little Italy’s final service set for later this month.
Having earned plenty of praise in its time, including being one of the few spots in and around the Altrincham area to have won a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2015, before the borough saw its foodie boom begin.
But fast forward a decade, and the Timperley institution is yet another culinary casualty to be confirmed of late, with Little Italy sharing a tear-jerking statement online.
Sharing the tragic news on social media this Friday (5 Sep), the restaurant wrote: “To all our lovely customers, it is with a heavy heart that we share some news with you all. After over 18 years of serving you all in Timperley, we will be closing our doors later this month.
“This has not been an easy decision. Unfortunately, rising costs and a significant increase in rental [costs] have made it impossible to continue in a sustainable way. As much as we love what we do, the reality is that it has become too difficult to maintain under these circumstances.
“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to cook with love and serve with the same passion as always. We would love to see you all and share one more meal, and raise a glass together.”
Safe to say that the post has been met with an outpouring of condolences and support from natives nearby and those who have travelled to enjoy their food.
Little Italy went on to add that they will detail more about their final week of business as soon as possible.
They can’t be accused of not keeping up with times and not trying to promote via social media either, as they small family-run team – headed up by Sam Cauchi, who bought the site back in 2008 – have always given things a go besides the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
Being one of many saddened customers to respond underneath the announcement, we couldn’t possibly sum up things better than local Vanessa Nice, who said: “Look at all these amazing comments – you certainly made your mark as a home from home for the residents of Timperley.
“The end of an era will always be sad, but sometimes life and families have to move on.”
As for Cauchi and co., they signed off by simply adding: “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, kindness and friendship over the years. Timperley has been our home, and you have all been our family.
“Love from all the team at Little Italy.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted for the gang and our thoughts are with everyone involved at this difficult time. For now, we can only say thank you to the countless Greater Manchester locations that continue to fall foul in the face of the rising pressures industry-wide. Case and point…
Award-winning chippy in Prestwich announces heartbreaking restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Chips @ No. 8, a chippy in Prestwich that’s lauded as one of the best in the UK, has announced the sad closure of its restaurant.
The award-winning takeaway made some big moves last year, expanding into the unit next door so that they could comfortable double their space downstairs and add a restaurant upstairs.
The restaurant was a brand-new concept for the much-loved Prestwich chippy, serving a seafood-focused menu that wasn’t necessarily all about the fryer.
But sadly, Chips @ No. 8 has announced that the restaurant element of its business, Loft @ No. 8, has closed for good.
They wrote that the economic climate and the huge amount of choice in Prestwich has left them struggling to fill seats in the chippy restaurant.
The good news is that the fish and chip shop itself remains open for business and thriving, and customers will be able to use the former restaurant space to eat their takeaway in.
The bar downstairs also remains open for business for a cheeky pint or glass of wine while you wait for your order.
The Loft @ No. 8 is closing. Credit: The Manc GroupCurry sauce on a Chips @ No 8 chippy tea. Credit: The Manc Group
In a statement, Chips @ No. 8 said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of Loft.
“With so many great places to eat in Prestwich, and the economic climate being what it is, we have struggled recently to fill enough seats to continue to make it a financially viable side to our business.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support whilst we were open, the team for their efforts, in particular, Craig, the creator of the delicious food that we had on offer up there.
“Chips @ No.8 remains open as normal and going forward, we are opening up the space upstairs for additional casual seating for the takeaway.
“The bar will remain open so you can still enjoy a pint or a glass of wine with your fish & chips, even if it is out of a box! We hope to see you soon!”
Georgina Pellant -
17th March 2023 
