IKEA has become the latest company to temporarily close all stores and factories in Russia since the country invaded Ukraine.
Joining what is a fast-growing collection of Western companies, notably including M&S, Volkswagen Group, Expedia, Diageo, H&M, and even Manchester-based fashion retailer Boohoo, Swedish furniture giant IKEA has confirmed that it has halted all operations at its 17 outlets across Russia, which is said to affect 15,000 workers.
Production at three IKEA manufacturing sites in Russia will also be paused, and all imports and exports in and out of the country, as well as for its ally Belarus, will be halted.
The retailer has however opted to keep its ‘Mega’ shopping centres open to allow access to essential retailers.
This announcement was said to have prompted a rush of shoppers at the stores due to close.
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As reported by The Guardian, brand owner Inter Ikea and store owner Ingka Group both said they had “secured employment and income stability” for the workers directly impacted by the decision to halt operations, including its 416 co-workers in Ukraine, where its one store and online operations have been suspended since the start of the invasion on 24 February.
IKEA has had a presence in Russia since 2000, and is understood to be one of its largest western employers across the country.
The war in Ukraine has both a huge human impact and is resulting in serious disruptions to supply chain and trading conditions, which is why the company groups have decided to temporarily pause IKEA operations in Russia. Read our statement here: https://t.co/0ss6WrAHIMpic.twitter.com/ixJyyAifFX
Speaking on the decision to temporarily close stores and factories in Russia, a spokesperson for IKEA said: “The war has a huge human impact already and it is also resulting in serious disruptions to supply chain and trading conditions, [so] for all of these reasons, the company groups have decided to temporarily pause Ikea operations in Russia.”
As mentioned, IKEA is one of the latest retailers to suspend operations in Russia, and joins a number of high-profile companies that have already taken similar steps.
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M&S said it has suspended shipments to its Turkish franchisee’s business in Russia – which has 48 stores and 1,200 employees – with the retailer explaining: “We are building on our existing support for Unicef’s UK’s Ukraine appeal with a £1.5m package to support the UN Refugee Agency and Unicef to help children and families in need.”
It also said it was sending £500,000 worth of coats and thermals to Ukraine, where it ceased operations at 10 stores a week ago.
Car manufacturer Volkswagen Group announced it had stopped production of vehicles in Russia until further notice, as has Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, and Renault, while drinks company Diageo – which most-notably makes Smirnoff vodka – said it had paused exports to Russia and Ukraine, and online booking firm Expedia became one of the first travel companies to stop selling travel in and out of Russia.
A fast-growing collection of Western companies have halted operations in Russia to stand with Ukraine / Credit: Yehor Milohrodskyi (via Unsplash)
Additionally, earlier in the week, a significant number of fashion brands made the decision to place various sanctions on Russia.
On Wednesday, the British online retailers Boohoo and ASOS announced they had suspended sales in the country, as did the Swedish clothing giant H&M, Spanish fashion retailer Mango, and sportswear giant Nike, while Adidas has made the decision to suspend its partnership with the Russian Football Union.
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Tech giant Apple is pausing sales, and Meta said it had stopped recommending content from Russian state media to all users of Facebook, with Instagram set to follow.
The Walt Disney Company, Sony, and Warner Bros are pausing their release of films in Russia, and Netflix also announced it has no plans to distribute news, sport, and entertainment channels from Russian state media.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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This Manchester restaurant serves an all-vegan roast with ‘meat’ and all the trimmings
Georgina Pellant
A Manchester vegan restaurant is serving an all-vegan roast with mock ‘meat’ and all the trimmings, putting an ethical twist on the British Sunday classic.Keen to see if it’s worth the hype, I took a trip down to try it out for myself – and left feeling pretty impressed.
Not being a vegan personally, I enlisted the help of two friends of the plant-powered persuasion to accompany me to get a real feel for every option.
Suffice it to say, it was a success and, whilst I won’t be converting to veganism any time soon, it’s nice to know that there are options out there for when I feel like being ‘good’.
With three different roast choices on offer, Wholesome Junkies is the first restaurant in the city centre to venture past the usual vegan choices of mushroom Wellington and roasted squash and go all-out with a variety of mock meat options.
Meats have been created in partnership with Liverpool vegan brand CB Sushi, using their mock beef and turkey joints to give vegans the feeling of a ‘proper’ roast.
Glazed ‘turkey’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. / Image: The Manc Eats
‘Beef’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with onion gravy, Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the good bits. / Image: The Manc Eats
Think glazed ‘turkey’ filled with stuffing, medallions of ‘beef’ and crispy deep-fried oyster mushrooms, all served with lashings of onion gravy, ‘buttered’ seasonal greens, glazed carrots and parsnips, deep-fried stuffing balls, crispy roasties and fluffy Yorkshire puddings created by Mabel’s.
Having tried all three, I have to say that my favourite was the turkey. It’s actually my least favourite meat to eat, so it was something of a surprise to find I enjoyed the vegan version much more than the real thing.
The texture was spot on, and there was none of the dryness you typically associate with the bird. Washed down with a pint of locally-brewed Cloudwater Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale, it absolutely hit the spot.
The deep-fried oyster mushroom roast at Wholesome Junkies. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cloudwater’s Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale. / Image: The Manc Eats
Coming in a close second was the deep-fried oyster mushroom roast, which was so packed with flavour that it almost felt like I was eating fried chicken with my Sunday dinner.
As for the beef, it didn’t really do it for me – tasting more of herbs than red meat, but then, I don’t suppose there are many vegans queueing up the block for a bloody meat substitute.
Wholesome Junkies has long been a favourite with Manchester vegans. First shooting to fame in 2018 with an appearance on BBC2’s Million Pound Menu, owner Chelsea appeared on the show to ask for 95,000 to open her own vegan junk food restaurant.
Prior to that, she’d been running her Wholesome Junkies concept as a street food pop-up at sites like Grub and Ancoats General Store.
Whilst her bid to impress the BBC judges was not successful at the time, the TV appearance put her on the map and within a year she had her own Arndale market stall.
Fast forward a few more, and in 2022 she opened her first bricks and mortar restaurant – taking over the former Umezushi site at 4 Mirabel Street.
Since moving in, she’s completely transformed it: decking it out in bright colours and filling every corner with quirky little ornaments and decorations.
Strings of fairy lights, hanging mushrooms and frames filled with pictures from local artists all make the small space feel incredibly warm and welcoming – and our visit the restaurant was absolutely packed.
At a time when so many vegan restaurants seem to be closing, it was an absolute joy to see so many bums on seats during our visit.
Veganuary might almost be over, but if you’re a vegan – or simply just trying to cut down on your meat consumption – it’s definitely worth giving this one a go.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
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Meet the couple who quit their jobs to sell sandwiches from their Northern Quarter flat
Georgina Pellant
If you’re a fan of things in bread (and honestly, who isn’t) then there’s a new Italian sandwich dealer in town that you absolutely need to get down your neck.
Serving up some of the best butties we’ve had in a long time, it’s called Ad Maiora and is being run by a couple who are making absolutely everything out of a kitchen in their little Manchester flat.
Collected from a nondescript door on a Norther Quarter back street, we’re talking giant focaccia-style loaves generously stuffed with premium ingredients like ‘nduja, spicy Tuscan sausage, smoked scamorza, mortadella, burrata and red pesto.
The brainchild of Sardinian couple Daniela Steri and Enrico Pinna, all of their sandwiches are made using only top quality Italian ingredients with a total of nine different options to choose from.
From the vegan-friendly La Nonna (Italian hummus, roasted aubergine, olives, sundried tomatoes and rocket) to a huge array of different cheesy and meaty delights, fillings include parma ham, gorgonzola DOP, truffled brie, Milano salami and crumbled pistachios.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Their bread is baked freshly by hand each morning using a tiny domestic oven, and they’re already baking up to 60 loaves of schiacciata (a traditional Tuscan flatbread) a day to keep up with the demand – putting just four in the oven at a time, over and over again.
On our visit, the pair tell us that they moved over from Sardinia to the UK six years ago and first tried living in London for a year (they say they hated it) before making the move up to Manchester.
In that time, they say they’ve fallen in love with the city of Manchester and with the Northern Quarter in particular.
Inspired by the brilliant food scene in their area, two months ago they both decided to pack in their jobs and pursue their own business instead – and haven’t looked back since.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Previously, Daniela tells us she’d worked at hotel Dakota in housekeeping for three years whilst her partner, Enrico, had been employed at Ezra and Gil. Despite their hospitality experience, though, neither of them had made bread before.
That doesn’t seem to be holding them back, though, and demand for their sandwiches is rocketing as word spreads about the new homemade Italian butties for sale on a Manchester backstreet.
Emily Sergeant -
4th March 2022 
