A restaurant that has always served a completely vegan menu has taken the decision to add meat to its offering in a bid to stay afloat.
Nomas Gastrobar has said that it will be adding a ‘thoughtfully curated selection of high-quality, responsibly sourced meat and dairy options’ as a matter of survival.
The family-run business stressed the financial challenges it’s been facing, stating that the limitations of a plant-based menu have shrunk its customer base.
Nomas even wrote an account of customers walking out of the restaurant after seeing that everything on the menu is vegan.
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They pointed out that vegan businesses across the country are closing at an alarming rate as appetites change – in Manchester over the last couple of years we’ve seen trend-setting V Rev shut down, we’ve lost Zad’s takeaway, and seen Frosts Burgers close after just months.
The move to start serving meat has sparked a fierce debate online, with some accepting that they need to make the move to stay operating, and others blasting them for ‘selling death and cruelty’.
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The restaurant said it’s been ‘really upsetting’ to see so much ‘nastiness’ in the comment section of their controversial post.
Food at vegan restaurant Nomas in Macclesfield, which has decided to add meat to its menu. Credit: Instagram
Nomas promised that their commitment to the vegan community ‘remains unwavering’, through a wide range of nourishing vegan dishes remaining on the menu.
In a follow-up letter, they wrote: “We understand that our decision to start serving meat on our menu may come as quite a shock to people, it certainly did to us.
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“However, daily, we witness people walking into Nomas Gastrobar seeing the vegan menu/offering and then walking out. Or even saying ‘Is it all vegan’ and then leaving.”
Nomas continued: “In answer to comments like ‘Is there no other way’, we promise, we have explored so many avenues.
“When the new menu does happen, the majority of it will still be vegan. There will be a few meat alternatives for those who would prefer them.
“We’ve seen a few comments like ‘I was planning to visit but now I won’t’. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean a lot. Right now we are not taking enough money to pay our wonderful team’s wages or rent to our landlord, people’s thoughts on visiting don’t help us pay these bills.
“We’ve found it pretty astonishing some of the nastiness in the comments. We have made this choice out of a place of survival for our family-run business and seeing people who are meant to ‘love all beings’ being awful to each other has really been upsetting.
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“We’re living in a climate where well-established plant-based businesses are closing. We moved to this county 6 years ago and this business is our only source of income, we need to make it work and therefore have to try whatever we can.”
Nomas was opened by Adonis Norouznia and his wife Fey after they moved from Greece in 2018.
Its current vegan menu features everything from Greek gyros to pizzas to burgers.
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 -
30th January 2024 
