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”.
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“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.”
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.
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“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.
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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.”
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“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
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.
The Manc -
26th April 2021 
