Sacha Lord has long been vocal about the Government’s treatment of hospitality in the UK – and it appears that the last closure in the region has really tugged at his heart strings (and flipped his rage switch).
The Night Time Economy Adviser has demanded a general election after learning of the closure of a popular neighbourhood restaurant in Droylsden.
He said that the news that Industry, which had been at the heart of the Tameside town’s regeneration, had shut down was ‘heartbreaking’.
The restaurant and bar said that they can no longer stomach the ‘crippling’ costs of running a business in 2023 – from energy bills to VAT increases – without charging customers ‘extortionate prices’.
The team behind Industry said it was a decision that hadn’t been made lightly and that they were ‘devastated’ to have to close their doors.
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The restaurant had even managed to survive a turbulent first year after opening in 2020 – and we all know what went down then.
Sacha has slammed the current Government once again for their lack of support for hospitality businesses.
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He said that the Tories are allowing ‘communities to break up and High Streets to fall apart’.
The Parklife boss wrote on Twitter: “Heartbreaking. I met the team at Industry last year, they were lovely. Again, citing Energy as a factor. This Gov’t don’t care about Hospitality. Under their watch communities are breaking up, our High Streets are falling apart. We urgently need a General Election.”
Heartbreaking. I met the team at Industry last year, they were lovely.
Again, citing Energy as a factor.
This Gov’t don’t care about Hospitality.
Under their watch communities are breaking up, our High Streets are falling apart.
Droylsden restaurant Industry’s full statement said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts we have to say that Industry has closed its doors for the final time.
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“Industry started as an idea between three friends of opening a nice little bar where you could have a drink and get a bite to eat….the reality became so much bigger than that and exceeded all of our expectations.
“Opening at the height of a global pandemic was an enormous challenge and we had so many hurdles to jump just to stay open. In our first year, we were only allowed to open 5 months out of 12 but we powered through because we believed in our vision.
“Since then, plenty of blood, sweat and tears, from both us and our incredible team, has gone in to making Industry what it has been to date. Sadly, crippling energy bills, spiralling overheads, lack of government support and VAT/tax increases have made our ‘little’ idea unsustainable, without having to charge extortionate prices.
“Please do not think that this is a decision which has been made lightly. We are devastated and we would be grateful if any negative comments could be kept away. We know we haven’t been perfect, but we can assure you that we always tried our best without any regrets.
“Thank you to all our customers for your support over the last few years. Seeing people come in and enjoy what we created has been the best part of this whole experience.
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“Last but by no means ever least, thank you to all of our amazing team, both past and present. We are forever grateful for your hard work, dedication and loyalty to us and to Industry. Mike, Paul and Andrew.”
Featured image: Industry Droylsden
Tameside
Police give crucial updates on human remains found close to M67 in Tameside earlier this week
Emily Sergeant
Crucial updates on the investigation into human remains found close to a Greater Manchester motorway have now been provided.
It comes after officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called out to the M67 in Tameside earlier this week shortly after 11pm on Monday (3 August) by road workers who made a discovery close to a bridge between junctions 3 and 4, while they were carrying our routine maintenance work on the motorway.
The motorway was then closed to the public for the majority of the following day (4 August) while a police investigation got underway.
Since then, a Home Office post-mortem has taken place to provide more details.
With police confirming that further enquiries are currently ‘ongoing’ and the investigation proceeding at pace, some information about the identity of the human remains has now been released.
It is now known that the body is that of a male aged between 20-28-years-old, approximately 5’5″ to 5’9″ tall and of medium build.
The ethnicity isn’t known at this stage, but it’s expected that this will be confirmed along with other details in due course.
“We are continuing to work with specialist teams to understand the full circumstances behind how the man’s body ended up by the bridge, how he died, and to locate next-of-kin to establish an identity,” GMP said in a statement.
Featured Image – Peter McDermott / Geograph (via Wikimedia Commons)
Tameside
All Brewers Fayre and Beefeater locations across the UK are closing down
Danny Jones
It looks to be the end for not one but two of Britain’s best-known and long-running restaurant franchises, as Brewers Fayre and Beefeaters will be closing down all of their locations.
Dating back to the mid-1970s, there will soon be none left anywhere in the country
The pair of recognisable chains, owned by parent company Whitbread PLC – who also own Premier Inn, hence why they usually come as a joint package – have nearly 200 sites across the UK, but they are already in the process of a wholesale shutdown.
News of the impending closures first began circulating back in April, but now the process is said to be fully underway, with multiple Greater Manchester names on the chopping block.
A real shame all brewers fayres are closing down. As a member they’ve sent me a last free main. So enjoying a mixed grill pic.twitter.com/EIHMZ7LCvv
— Daniel Turner⚽️ 🏟️ 1️⃣1️⃣5️⃣8️⃣ (@puffpuff65) August 4, 2026
With roughly 3,800 staff set to be made unemployed as part of the major restructuring by Whitbread, the job cuts will see approximately 12% of their workforce laid off from a total of around 30,000.
One local duo due to face the music is the soon-to-close Stable Gate in Denton and Wheatlea Park in Wigan – both of which are Brewers Fayre branches.
89 of the brand’s boozers have been given until early September (some dates may vary) to shut up shop and hold not just their last orders, but their final dinner service full stop.
The rest of the venues closing next month are Beefeater pubs, including the Heaton Park one in Crumpsall, The Quay House at Salford Quays, and the Whitgate Inn over Oldham way.
As for others nearby, Macclesfield’s Springwood Park is also set to close.
The older of the two British mainstays is Beefeater, which was founded by Whitbread back in 1974 when they opened their first pub, The Halfway House, down in Enfield.
Brewers debuted up North in ’79, with a maiden watering hole called The Farmers Arms in Preston, before going on to open several locations around Lancashire and eventually nationwide.
Most of you will likely have visited or at the very least passed one of those food and drink spots in your time, and while they may be more associated with hotels and service stations these days, they still served as regular haunts for plenty of people who will no doubt be gutted to see them go.
Speaking of services, another big name is expanding further into the North West.