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.
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“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.”
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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.
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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…
Viral chicken shop Wingstop is opening inside the Manchester Arndale
Daisy Jackson
Wingstop, the chicken shop famed for its vast range of wing flavours and sauces, is opening another spot in Manchester city centre.
The brand will be taking over the old Yo Sushi site in the Manchester Arndale, which shut down just last month.
It’ll mean there’ll be two Wingstop locations within a few minutes’ walk of each other, with another takeaway already well-established on Piccadilly Gardens.
Wingstop UKI has found viral fame with people taste-testing its wide range of hand-sauced chicken wing flavours, ranging from garlic parmesan all the way up to the eye-watering ‘Atomic’.
As well as chicken wings, it serves delicious tenders and burgers, all cooked to order.
There are also a range of sides, including loaded fries, sweet potato fries, and cajun fried corn, plus dips like ranch, honey mustard, and blue cheese.
Wingstop is also famed for its thick milkshakes – which are a necessity if you order your chicken down the spicier end of the scale.
Established in Texas in 1994, Wingstop rose rapidly to become one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the US.
The brand launched in the UK market in 2018, and into Ireland last year, and now operates more than 85 locations.
Wingstop is opening in Manchester Arndale
Wingstop will be moving into the 5,928 sq ft unit upstairs in Manchester Arndale, just opposite Next.
Scott Linard, Portfolio Manager for M&G Real Estate, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Wingstop to our vibrant F&B offer; an addition we’re sure will resonate with our younger visitors.
“With the additions of popular restaurant chains like Wingstop, coupled with the arrival of new retailers such as Arc’teryx, Alo Yoga, Pro:Direct and Sephora, we are strategically creating a destination where people across the North West and beyond want to spend their time.”
Steve Gray, Head of European Retail Asset Management at Global Mutual, said: “Wingstop will join Manchester Arndale’s varied F&B mix, including Popeyes, Sides, Hotel Chocolat, Joe & The Juice and Café Nero.
“In-demand operators like this help create energy and momentum that allows the brands across the scheme to thrive, driving increased footfall, longer dwell times and a more compelling offer for visitors.”
The best cheese tasting party in the North is BACK at a new Manchester venue
Danny Jones
That’s right, one of the biggest and best cheese tasting nights in the entire land is returning to Greater Manchester at a brand new city centre venue.
Not to be over-the-top, but this isn’t just another experience sampling possibly the greatest foodstuff on Earth, it’s a fully-fledged cheese-lovers’ party.
Some of you may have come across Homage2Fromage before, but for anyone unaware of the Yorkshire-born event, it started out as a monthly cheese tasting club and went on to expand across the dairy-adoring North at large.
Relaunching here in Manchester for 2026, all you lactose-intolerant people better watch, because Home2Fromage is coming back with a vengeance and heading to the Northern Quarter. Here’s how it went down the last time we visited one in Leeds:
Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate, Manchester and who knows where else next.
Posting up in a relatively recent addition to NQ‘s bar and restaurant scene, The Faraday – a pub on Lever St that replaces the old Seven Sins back in October – it looks set to be an ideal venue for the regular evening series.
Homage2Fromage will be making its Manc return this month, and better still, they’re holding a cheeky little giveaway to sweeten the pot.
As in the deal, we mean – not the inevitable bowls full of olives, chutney, oil and various other dips…
To welcome this celebration of all things cheese coming back to Manchester city centre, they’re giving away a bunch of free tickets: 20 pairs in total.
Worth over £50 a piece for each twin set of tickets, you’d be a fool not to at least throw your hat in the ring for this one.
As you can see, the competition closes this Thursday, 19 February, ahead of the full relaunch party next week (Wed, 25 Feb), and all you have to do to enter is fill out this super quick survey.
It really is as simple as that; a few quick words are all that stand between you and a potential mountain of cheese and more.
You can find all you need to know about the event right HERE, and in case you haven’t popped into The Faraday just yet, see more down below.
It’s still somewhat early days, but we can see ourselves spending a fair bit of time in this up-and-coming Manchester watering hole, especially when there’s cheese nights involved.
Danny Jones -
6th September 2025 
