Despite receiving rave reviews, bosses behind Manchester restaurant The Wild Goose have announced it will close its doors less than a year after opening.
Citing the economic slowdown and rising costs, owners shared the news in an emotive post last night as they thanked everyone that had supported the short-lived venture.
The popular Altrincham restaurant, opened by the same team behind the successful Tre Ciccio restaurants, has received a host of positive reviews for its Anglo-French cuisine.
Image: The Wild Goose
Housed inside the former Francs site, it opened its doors last December with diners praising its Sunday roasts, exceptional wine list, and collection of eclectic, retro and classic dishes, all taken from a by-gone era of gastronomy
But just eight months on from its launch, owners have now said they don’t feel they can continue to run it any longer – explaining that they have struggled to get enough people through the door to turn a profit.
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In a heartbreaking post shared to the restaurant’s social media pages last night, they cited the economic slowdown as a reason for the site’s closure, writing: “It’s with great sadness that we have made the unfortunate decision to cease trading at The Wild Goose.
Image: The WIld Goose
“Whilst the restaurant gained a great reputation with numerous 5-star reviews it has simply become far too difficult to generate sufficient customers numbers to be viable.
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“This coupled with the economic slowdown and rising costs over the past few months prompted our decision to take action.
“This then enables us to take stock of our current situation and consider our next steps with a view that The Wild Goose may well take flight again later in the year.
“Thanks for all that have supported us. Best wishes, The Wild Goose Team x.”
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Since sharing the announcement, comments have flown in thick and fast from fans of the eatery expressing their sadness that the business is shutting its doors.
Image: The Wild Goose
One person wrote: “Absolutely gutted to hear this, what a huge loss to Altrincham. I really hope you manage to reopen later in the year.”
Another said: “This is very sad news. We absolutely loved visiting your restaurant. Amazing food wine and service.”
A third added: “So sorry to hear this guys you were a great addition to Alty.”
A fourth said: “Very sad news – you’re an incredible restaurant. Hope to see you back soon.”
A fifth commented: “Wow that’s such a shame and a loss to Altrincham. Good luck with your next venture.”
Feature image – The Wild Goose
News
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Georgina Pellant -
21st July 2022 
