The beloved Chinese street food restaurant Salt & Pepper has announced the shocking closure of its stall in the Arndale Market.
A lunch time staple for hundreds of city dwellers, Salt & Pepper has experienced an overwhelming success in its current location, where it has been serving a menu of Eastern and Western cuisines – including its famous sticky chicken, salt and pepper prawns and salt and pepper fries – since 2019.
However, the owners of the restaurant took to social media over the weekend to announce that they have been left with no choice but to pack up their spot at the market as a result of limited facilities provided by the council.
Instagram @saltpeppermcr
Their social media post reads: “Due to the limited facilities in the Arndale Market, we’re no longer able to keep trading in this space.
“If you’ve ever been to the market, you’d know there isn’t much of an extraction system on our side (to expel smoke and smells), and the council (who run the market) have said it’s our responsibility to fix this because of the popularity of the stall.”
Their post went on to explain that the council has said it is unwilling to extend the restaurant’s lease unless they invest upwards of £100,000 to put in their own extraction system.
The owners said they are ‘absolutely gutted’, and have been ‘trying to figure out how to keep our amazing staff employed and our business dreams alive’.
However, this doesn’t signal the end of Salt & Pepper …
The post revealed that there will ‘hopefully be some exciting news in the near future’, before adding that they will be continuing their residency at Black Dog Ballroom, where they’ll now be opening from 12pm so you can still get your lunch time fix.
They wrote: “They’ve (Black Dog Ballroom) kindly let us open at 12pm and will make sure the food and services matches our standards in the Arndale. Deliveroo will also be available all day.”
Their post concluded: “It’s a sad end of an era but we’re committed to keeping going and keeping serving you guys some good scran – wherever the location.”
Salt and Pepper will be open in Black Dog Ballroom from 12pm every day. You can also order for delivery from their menu on Deliveroo.
