FREE FOOD & DRINK AT THE THIRSTY KOREAN

Sacha Lord paid everyone’s food and drink bill.

The restaurant, operating in Chorlton, was open for less than one year before the COVID pandemic hit, and since re-opening, owner Eunji Noh has been struggling to afford the bills and ingredients needed to trade.

Hearing this, along with the news that Eunji was being bullied into paying for marketing she could not afford, Sacha stepped in.

Putting a call out across his social media accounts on August 17th, he said:

“You might remember that last summer I decided to do a tour of Greater Manchester for all 10 boroughs and it was announced in advance I'd turn up on a Sunday, choose one bar and for one hour I bought everybody free drinks and I had the time of my life and met so many amazing people.

“And because of that, I've decided to do something very similar again. I've met with the owner and she's amazing, she's lovely, she's got great pride in what she does.

“Doors will open at four o'clock and close at 10:15pm, and between four and 10:15 go in there, eat as much as you want, drink as much as you want because I'm footing the bill. It is that simple, there is no catch.

"Just walk in, she's not taking bookings that day, just walk-ins, but eat as much as you want, drink as much as you want and yeah try and rinse me.”

The result was Manchester at its finest. Hundreds and hundreds of people turned up, queueing around the block for hours before being offered a table whilst those with houses nearby came out and offered cups of tea to people waiting and others making plans to return of their own accord.

The restaurant took 5x their best previous record and received a host of press as a result.

Sacha hopes that this will serve as a reminder of the struggles Hospitality has faced in recent years and that it will encourage others to continue supporting local, independent operators.