Manchester hospitality pleads for customers to give notice as no-shows continue
The lifting of restrictions combined with good weather has resulted in high demand for tables since April 12. But some restaurant and bar owners have revealed that people are still failing to turn up for their bookings.
Restaurants in Greater Manchester are asking customers to cancel any reservations they can no longer make after reports of more no-shows happening across the city.
Hospitality launched the #NoMoreNoShows campaign last summer following the revelation that so many customers are abandoning pre-booked tables it’s costing the sector £16bn a year.
And the damaging habit has seemingly resurfaced following the reopening of outdoor venues in 2021.
The easing of restrictions combined with good weather has resulted in high demand for seats at bars and restaurants since April 12 – but owners have revealed that too many people are failing to turn up for their bookings.
Olivia Thornton Stubbs, Area Business Development Manager for San Carlo Group, said the number of no-shows on Sunday (April 26) had been “disheartening”.
“People, please call restaurants to cancel,” she posted on Twitter.
“We’re working harder than ever to give you the best experience and this means we have to turn others away throughout the week who we’d absolutely love to fit in.”
Disheartening amount of no shows again last night 😔 People, please call restaurants to cancel, we’re working harder than ever to give you the best experience and this means we have to turn others away throughout the week who we’d absolutely love to fit in 👎🏼 #nomorenoshows
— Olivia Thornton Stubbs (@OliviaThorntonS) April 25, 2021
Chief Executive of Gusto Matt Snell also spoke out last week, explaining that the Italian chain was seeing a high rate of cancellations on a daily basis – but this was “actually a good thing” as the empty covers could be replaced.
One Gusto restaurant, however, had seen 15% of covers failing to show without notice.
Snell explained: “We are having up to 40% of covers CANCEL each day. This is actually a good thing though as we are able to replace these covers. We still have a restaurant suffering up to 15% of covers no showing, despite all the checks we’ve put in place.
“If you can’t make it, that’s fine. Just let us know.”
If you can't make it, that's fine. JUST LET US KNOW#nomorenoshows
Volta bar and restaurant on Burton Road in Didsbury also weighed in on the topic, stating the #NoMoreNoShows message “had never been more important”.
“Last week the hospitality industry saw lots of empty tables in the busiest (and arguably most important) week of the year for us and so many others,” bar reps stated.
“Let’s stop that.”
Restaurants right across the country have reported the same problem since reopening to the public two weeks ago.
A small venue in the Wirral recently made regional headlines after announcing online that it could simply “not afford” any more empty tables, whilst another pub in Benfleet near Southend reported a staggering 60 no-shows in just two days.
The Bohemia in North Finchley said it had suffered 90 no-shows and last-minute cancellations on its first Friday back open since lockdown.
Some venues have now resorted to taking deposits from customers in an attempt to soften the financial impact caused by deserted tables.
The #NoMoreNoShows campaign encourages all customers to contact venues if they cannot make their reservation and rebook for a different time.
One of the early backers of the campaign, Abi Dunn at Sixty Eight People, has continued to emphasise to customers that “it’s ok to cancel.”
“In no other area of business is it acceptable to renege on a contract in this way,” she stated.
“We have to change the way people behave and the notion that no shows are acceptable.
“Greater Manchester is a metropolis of bars, dining, coffee hang outs, gastronomic delights and nights to remember. Please help them all stay open!”
Featured image: Victor He / Unsplash
Food & Drink
Nostalgic ready-to-drink Breezer makes UK return after a decade
Daisy Jackson
An iconic ready-to-drink favourite has launched back into the UK – oh yes, Breezer is back.
First launched in the 1990s, Breezers – then pitched as an ‘alcopop’ – were a staple on dancefloors and at barbecues right across the UK.
And now Bacardi has decided to bring these delicious, fruity, easy-drinking bottles back to British shores.
There are three new flavours to try as Breezers return to your fridges – Zesty Orange, Zingy Lime, and Crisp Watermelon.
And Breezer launched back into Manchester last night with a suitably memorable party, turning a spot in the Northern Quarter into a corner shop.
The ‘local Cornerbop’ was stacked with your usual essentials, plus shelf after shelf of these colourful glass ready-to-drink bottles.
Inside the Breezer ‘Cornerbop’ corner shop in ManchesterBreezer is back, in three new flavours
The Breezer relaunch party saw Tarsza and Rennie Peters spinning nostalgic anthems with a modern twist at a pop-up party in a corner shop.
Steve Young, business unit director for Bacardi in the UK & Ireland, said: “We know there is a lot of love for Breezer in the UK, and we are confident a new generation of consumers will fall in love with the new Breezer.
“RTDs are booming, however, the Flavoured Alcoholic Beverages category could do with a bit more excitement. By bringing back Breezer we’re definitely putting the fruity taste into FAB.”
The iconic ready-to-drink classic is back – and better than ever.
£1.8m revamp of Ancoats pub The Shamrock is FINALLY set to begin
Daisy Jackson
At long last, work to revamp The Shamrock pub in Ancoats is about to begin – and they’re calling on locals to rename the historic boozer.
The Shamrock, on Bengal Street, was taken over by Joseph Holt brewery in 2019 but has been firmly sealed shut ever since, with the pandemic halting its revamp.
But now the family-owned brewery is ready to get to work on the pub, with a £1.8m revamp kicking off very soon.
The Shamrock, which dates back to 1808, will be transformed from an Irish pub into a Joseph Holt’s venue.
Back in the turn of the 19th century, it was a popular watering hole for the Irish and Italian communities who moved to the industrial neighbourhood.
Obviously, Ancoats has gone through some pretty major changes in the years since, and is now one of the city’s trendiest and foodiest suburbs, filled with flats, bars, coffee shops and more.
It’s because of this that the Joseph Holt team felt like The Shamrock was due a new name for its new chapter, and are asking the public to help rename the pub, with a shortlist of five names drawn up.
The options on the table for when the pub reopens include The Victoria Arms (as a nod to the flats and accommodation across the road); The Fleet (the name of a former neighbouring pub); and The Linen Arms, reflecting the city’s cotton trade.
The historic Ancoats pub The Shamrock will finally undergo a £1.8m revamp. Credit: Supplied
The other choices for the public to vote on are The Spinners Rest, after the mill workers who lived in historic Ancoats; and Queen Adelaide, after another former pub around the corner on the main Ancoats Road.
Richard Kershaw, CEO of Joseph Holt, said: “As a family business with deep roots in the area, our pubs are very much at the very heart of the communities where they are located.
“With the moving forward of long-awaited refurbishment of The Shamrock – and with it a new name – we wanted our customers to feel part of the journey.
“So we brainstormed names for the pub that would respect the past and the local area while also looking to the future. Now we’re letting the people who matter most to us, our customers, decide which one to use.”
You can place your vote on the new name for The Shamrock pub HERE. One participant who picks the winning name will receive free drinks vouchers.
The Manc -
26th April 2021 
