“Cheers for that, happy new year to you too”
CCTV footage has been shared by a popular restaurant after its owners claimed a man stole valuable equipment(Image: Instagram: @foodunagi)
The owners of a popular sushi restaurant in Greater Manchester have shared CCTV footage of which they claim shows a man allegedly stealing valuable equipment in broad daylight.
Unagi, which has a number of restaurants across the city-borough including in Altrincham and Cheetham Hill, said the incident happened at its newest Salford Quays store on Saturday (January 11) afternoon. In the footage, a man is seen at the entrance of the venue before reaching for something and then running out of the restaurant.
Staff at the restaurant claim the man stole an iPad which is used to take and manage bookings, just after 1.40pm. Sharing the footage on Instagram, Unagi wrote: “As if January isn’t already tough enough!!! As everyone knows January is a VERY tough time for the hospitality industry, then you get idiots like this who make it impossible.
“Cheers for that, happy new year to you too. We’re already facing enough challenges and you’ve really just put the cherry on the top!! Taking our IPad which controls all of our bookings system!!”
Hailed at the time of its opening last year as the ‘biggest sushi restaurant in the north’, the Salford Quays restaurant is based in the former Lime Bar site – tucked in-between the Quayside MediaCityUK shopping centre and The Lowry theatre.
The restaurant released CCTV footage on Instagram claiming an iPad used to take booking was stolen(Image: Instagram: @foodunagi)
The 225–cover restaurant has an expansive cocktail bar, an outdoor terrace and a show-stopping sushi bar in the centre where orders are made fresh by professionally-trained chefs.
Unagi started life in 2020 – just two weeks before the lockdown began – as a silver food truck serving up sushi in Altrincham. Co-owners David and Jo Vanderhook, who also own The Con Club in Altrincham, quickly expanded the business after seeing demand for their Pan-Asian delights.
Upon posting the recent footage online, the owners of the venue asked for anyone who had ‘happened to see this guy around the Salford Quays area’ to reach out to them, whilst also urging their post was a warning for local businesses to ‘watch out’.
Unagi opened its Salford Quays restaurant, next to the Quayside MediaCityUK shopping centre, in August (Image: Manchester Evening News)
Commenting on the video, one person replied: “Shocking… so sorry for you guys. We had a lovely lunch in there today. Thanks.” Another said: “Shocking honestly! Sorry guys.”
One other commended them for sharing the footage by saying: “Wowww. Well done you for sharing the video. I hate that people don’t get publicly shamed enough for **** like this.”
Concluding the post, Unagi added a thanks to those who had been visiting venues across Greater Manchester this month – usually hailed as one of the quietest periods of the year for the hospitality industry following Christmas and New Year celebrations.
A man was seen fleeing the entrance of the sushi restaurant after allegedly grabbing a device used to manage bookings(Image: Instagram: @foodunagi)
They added: “On a lighter note, THANK YOU, to everyone who is out supporting the hospitality industry this January. Your support means so much to everyone!!”
Greater Manchester Police has confirmed their investigation into the incident is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to get in touch with them.