Sugo Pasta Kitchen is hoping to crowdfund its way to its third restaurant, saying that the banks ‘aren’t keen’ to lend to indie restaurants in the Covid climate.
The renowned Italian restaurant already has sites in Altrincham and Ancoats.
Its third, in the regenerated Stanley Square in Sale, is due to open in the coming months.
The team behind Sugo have managed to cover most of the money needed to build the restaurant themselves.
But they say they’re £85,000 short and have ‘hit a funding brick wall’.
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Food at Sugo – it hopes to open a new restaurant in Sale soon. Credit: Sugo.
They hope that their Kickstarter campaign will help them to raise the remaining funds, with supporters able to make pledges in exchange for rewards.
The rewards include meals in the restaurants, unlimited pasta for a year, and private restaurant takeovers.
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At the time of writing, they have already raised more than £17,000 from around 200 backers.
Sugo posted: “For our sins, we decided at the beginning of 2021 that we’d love to open our third restaurant and back the regeneration project taking place at Stanley Square in Sale.
📣 WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET US OPEN IN SALE! 📣
We’re £85k short for our fit out in the new year. 💰
“Since we opened our original restaurant in Altrincham in 2015 and then Ancoats in 2018, we’ve often been asked to open in Sale!
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“The project in total costs £275k, and we’ve managed to cover £190k ourselves. But, unfortunately, the banks aren’t keen to lend to indie restaurants right now due to covid, so there’s no better time for us to launch our first ever crowdfund.
“We aren’t asking for something for nothing; essentially, you’re buying gift vouchers that you can redeem at any of our restaurants whenever you choose in 2022.
“So, if you like to visit us anyway, you’re paying for your next trip to us upfront so we can finish our fit-out. That’s all there is to it.
“Alternatively, it makes a superb Christmas present too!
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“Lastly, a massive thank-you to everyone who has been part of our journey thus far. We really couldn’t have done it without you.
“The best is definitely yet to come!”
Speaking to The Manc back in July, co-owner Michael De Martiis said: “In both Altrincham and Ancoats we came in at the beginning of a new food and drink revolution and we’ve got that same buzz with Stanley Square and Sale.
“We’re going to put our heart and soul into creating a Pasta Kitchen in the heart of Sale that will be cherished for generations to come.”
Featured image:Sugo
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.
Daisy Jackson -
14th December 2021 
