A local restaurant in south Manchester has slammed ‘really unfair’ customers who pulled a no-show on Christmas day itself.
Family-run Indian restaurant Khandoker, in Didsbury, has said that it faced a disgraceful 30 no shows on Monday 25 December.
That’s 30 diners who failed to show up for their reserved table and failed to notify the restaurant that they weren’t coming.
Khandoker said in a frustrated post on Facebook that it was particularly unfair on the staff who were away from their own families to work serving people on Christmas day.
They also stressed that to skip out on a reservation creates a large amount of food waste and overall financial loss for local businesses.
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The Kingsway restaurant has also said that the no shows will be banned from dining there in the future.
They wrote: “Over 30 No shows on Christmas Day is really unfair on all our hospitality staff who had to show up early and be away from there families to prepare for a busy day!
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“It also creates a lot of food waste and overall loss for the restaurant trade. Please be respectful and call up if you can’t make it.
“The no shows will be banned from the restaurant in future. Not a great start to Christmas.”
Khandoker said it had taken deposits for all tables but hadn’t charged people for their full Christmas dinner upfront, which they thought ‘was fair at the time’.
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The business has been flooded with messages of support from customers.
One person said: “That’s disgusting. I think in future you should take full payment by the beginning of Dec. The majority of place are doing this nowadays.”
Another wrote: “Totally disrespectful to both foh and boh staff.”
Someone else commented: “Disgraceful! You were very fair only taking deposits but they didn’t show any appreciation on the day so you know what to do next time.
“It’s ignorant people like this who make things hard for the rest of us but I completely understand why businesses charge the full amount upfront because of cases like this!
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“Those places could have been filled if they’d given you enough notice! Hope everybody had a good day regardless.”
Bakery chain Gail’s is attempting to win over Prestwich after spelling mishap
Daisy Jackson
Gail’s has announced a plan to try and make amends with Prestwich after spelling the village’s name wrong on the new bakery’s signs.
The massive bakery chain finally confirmed that it would be moving into the suburb on the fringes of Bury and Manchester, but made a fatal flaw at the first step.
The huge posters are missing the letter ‘T’, instead saying ‘Hello Preswich’.
More than a few eyebrows were raised locally, with people saying it’s ‘not a great first impression for the locals…’.
And now Gail’s is attempting to put things right by offering free tea to Prestwich residents.
In new material released today, they wrote: “Oops… people of Prestwich, we owe you a ‘T’.
“You may have seen how we missed out a ‘t’ in our new bakery signage.
“We’re sorry for the mistake, and to make up for it we’d like to brew you a tea when we open.”
The new advertising has a QR code which people can scan to claim their free cuppa.
Gail’s has also passed its thanks on to ‘local resident Clair’, who actually came up with the suggestion on The Manc’s LinkedIn post here.
With this development, Gail’s has now confirmed it’ll be opening in Prestwich – directly opposite the new Rudy’s – in early 2025, with free tea served then to those who scan the QR code.
Gail’s will hand out free tea in Prestwich to apologise for spelling the village’s name wrongHuge bakery chain Gail’s confirms move to Prestwich – but spells village’s name wrong in signage
Salon Madre – A new tequila bar and pool hall is opening in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A new tequila bar and pool hall is set to open in Manchester in a couple of weeks, from the same team behind Madre.
The huge new space, Salon Madre, will be serving up the tacos and burritos that have made the Mexican restaurant at Kampus so well-loved.
And all that’s alongside a drinks menu that centres around tequila, including frozen, classic and flavoured margaritas and palomas.
Can’t stomach tequila? There’ll also be wines on draft, Corona and local beers.
The food menu will show off signature dishes like al pastor tacos, with daily rotating specials, plus Gringas, nachos and Madre’s huge burritos.
Salon Madre has taken over a spot just off Kampus’s lush garden that was previously home to a Seven Brothers taproom, right next door to Madre itself.
Salon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupSalon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
As well as all the Mexican food and drink goodness, the bar will have four pool tables and will be screening Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) and American sports.
The dream is to bring the fun and liveliness of a Mexican pool hall to the heart of Manchester, in this beautiful spot right near Piccadilly and Canal Street.
Salon Madre will open on 6 December at Kampus, with bookings for Christmas groups and parties now available.
Daisy Jackson -
27th December 2023 
