One of the Northern Quarter’s most long-standing restaurants has announced its shock closure after almost 22 years in Manchester.
TNQ, an independent restaurant with a British menu, said that the current climate has made the restaurant ‘no longer a viable business’.
In a shockingly honest statement, the business said that its energy bills have rocketed to a staggering £8,000 per month, and that the two owners have forgone their salaries to try and keep TNQ afloat.
But despite being ‘busy and often fully booked’, the business has been left in a ‘heartbreaking situation where we have to close the doors for good’.
“Thanks E-on and thanks Rachel Reeves”, TNQ said in a statement today.
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As for the staff who work at the High Street restaurant, TNQ bosses say they’re committed to paying them ‘every penny they are owed’ and are helping them to find new jobs in the industry.
TNQ said of their staff: “Our amazing team have worked blood sweat and tears over the years, grafted 80 hour weeks busting a gut to deliver our best for our guests. We are incredibly grateful to all our staff for their endeavours, loyalty, commitment and support over the 22 years.
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“We are so sorry to all of them that we can no longer continue.”
TNQ statement in full
Unfortunately this is a heartbreaking situation where we have to close the doors to TNQ for good after nearly 22 years.
We have got through the banking crisis, double dip recessions and Covid but the current climate has made the restaurant no longer a viable business.
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Our E-on bills are up to £8000 per month, wage costs have rocketed particularly after the last two budgets, food costs have soared and business rates continue to increase.
This has created a perfect storm resulting in the permanent closure of our beloved restaurant.
Last October we borrowed £100k which was personally guaranteed by 2 of the shareholders in order to try and weather the storm and 2 owners stopped being paid salary but unfortunately this wasn’t enough to save our restaurant.
Our amazing team have worked blood sweat and tears over the years, grafted 80 hour weeks busting a gut to deliver our best for our guests. We are incredibly grateful to all our staff for their endeavours, loyalty, commitment and support over the 22 years.
We are so sorry to all of them that we can no longer continue. We are committed to paying all our staff every penny they are owed. We are also working with our friends in the industry to find new jobs for everyone where we can. It is a truly gutting and heartbreaking situation. Sorry.
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Thank you to all our partners and suppliers over the years, many of whom we have formed great friendships with.
Finally, thank you to all our wonderful guests who have supported us over the years, many of whom we are proud to call our friends. We will be in touch with all our bookings in due course and we can only apologise that we can no longer accommodate you.
Our restaurant has been busy and often fully booked but it’s just not enough to be a sustainable business. We are so sorry but this is goodbye from us at TNQ, one of the longest established independent restaurants in our magnificent city.
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.
Daisy Jackson -
2nd February 2026 
