Summary
A restaurant in Manchester called TNQ Restaurant & Bar has closed after 22 years due to high costs like energy bills and food prices. The owner, Jobe Ferguson, said these growing expenses made it impossible to keep the business running. Despite efforts to keep the restaurant open, including borrowing money and not taking a salary, Ferguson decided to close.
Key Facts
- TNQ Restaurant & Bar in Manchester has closed after 22 years.
- Owner Jobe Ferguson borrowed up to £100,000 and stopped paying himself to try to save the business.
- Rising energy bills, now £8,000 a month, and increased food prices contributed to the closure.
- Changes to National Insurance Contributions were also a financial challenge.
- Staff, some of whom worked there for 18 years, were informed of the closure recently.
- The UK government announced a business rates discount for pubs and music venues, but this came too late for TNQ.
- Other businesses in the area are also reducing operating hours due to high costs.
- Ferguson owns other venues, but their energy bills have quadrupled since before COVID-19.
