Neighbourhood restaurant Chapati Cafe has been left with £600 worth of damage at its Chorlton restaurant after it was broken into overnight.
The Indian restaurant’s owner says that the burglar took off with nothing at all, but left chaos in his wake.
The criminal smashed a full-length window at around 2am this morning (4 February) and ransacked the site.
They took a box of till roll as far as the exit before realising it was worthless and leaving it behind.
Chapati Cafe posted on Twitter this morning: “Great start to February, the month of recovery! Our annual visitor is back …. Sat waiting for the window boarder.
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“Come down for a thali over the weekend … we need you, these windows cost a fortune!!”
Dan Hall, who co-founded the business with his wife Priti Chauhan-Hall, said that they had a similar incident last year, but that burglar raided the onions in their kitchen instead.
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Dan says he was woken in the early hours of this morning by an automated call from the Chapati Cafe security system, and saw a figure lurking on the security cameras.
Speaking to The Manc, he said: “It’s probably all in all about £600-worth of damage. That’s £600 you have to make, you’re talking a week or two weeks of turnover.
“It feels like we get broken in to once a year. It’s odd.
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“Everything calms down and you stop worrying as much, and all of a sudden you get a call off the alarm system and someone’s in there.
“The burglar took a box of till roll and then he’s left it on the way out when he’s obviously realised it’s not of value.
“It’s 95% card these days so there’s no cash on site! There’s only pennies, there’s nothing to steal, it was pointless.
“It’s the damage that’s the problem, and the upheaval and the mess.
“When we got burled last year the onions had all spilled out, it’s like he’d gone through the big bag of onions.
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“I just thought ‘what’s he doing?! Trying to nick some veg?’
“It’s the timing of it – the Omicron thing in December, trade went right down, and then January’s always quiet. February comes and you’re all sort of geared up like let’s going again.
“And then four days into February you get your windows smashed, it just knocks the wind out of you.”
Chapati Cafe opened in Chorlton in 2014 and has since expanded with a new site in MediaCityUK.
It’s famed for its hugely popular rice and three format, serving a selection of homemade curries in thalis.
Dan says he’s already had an outpouring of support from the community, including his MediaCityUK neighbours Grindsmith, who appeared with a hot coffee early this morning.
He said: “The two police officers went into a lot of detail, they were great. It’s making us feel a bit more valued.
“It did feel like they were giving more attention but I doubt they’ll catch him – he had cap on, head down, gloves on, he knew what he was doing.
“Little things do cheer you up, and we’ve had really nice messages.
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“Our customers are ace, I know they’ll support us, and we really do appreciate it.”
You can visit Chapati Cafe at Wilbraham Road in Chorlton.
Featured image: Chapati Cafe
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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”