Staff said they were informed over ‘text’ as former Manchester United star Ryan Gigg’s restaurant George’s Dining Room in Worsley, Manchester, closed its doors without warning on Friday
Ryan Giggs’s restaurant has suddenly shut its doors, with staff claiming they were informed “via text”.
George’s Dining Room in Worsley, Greater Manchester, has closed “with immediate effect” after more than 10 years since its opening. The eatery was opened back in 2014 by the Manchester United legend following a fanfare of publicity.
But the venue appeared to close and was in darkness on Friday, citing concerns to staff about rising costs. Signs on the door informed customers the restaurant was closed for the weekend “due to unforeseen circonstnaces [sic]”.
Now staff say they have been effectively laid off over text, Manchester Evening News reports. The outlet reported how texts were sent to waiting staff, writing that managers “regret to announce that with a heavy heart we have no alternative but to close George’s effective immediately”.
“This is due to the obvious reduction in trade and business against the huge increases in costs of operating the business and the ongoing cost of living crisis”. Stunned staff say they were told they would be paid outstanding wages in “due course” as well as notice payment, and for “those to whom it applies a redundancy payment.”
One staff member, who asked not to be named, said: “It came totally out of the blue, we were all supposed to be working today and then we got the text messages through, we are all stunned.” The sign on the door of the closed restaurant pictured on Friday night read: “To all our costumers [sic] Due to unforeseen circonstances [sic], unfortunately George’s will be closed for the weekend.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience. George’s team.” The Mirror has contacted the restaurant for further comment.
Giggs opened George’s on his home turf back in 2014 alongside old school friends Kelvin Gregory and Bernie Taylor, realising their joint dream of owning their own restaurant making the Salford area a “foodie” destination. The red carpet opening was attended by the likes of Nicky Butt, Gary Neville and Bryan Robson.
Speaking at the time, he said: “We’ve known each other for 30 years and we always said it would be great to do something like this together. “We’re all local lads and have lived in this area all our lives so we wanted to do something in Worsley and we think we’ve got a really different offering for the area.”
Since launching George’s, Ryan has gone on to spread his wings in the hospitality world, teaming up with former team-mate Neville on the GG Hospitality Group which launched Hotel Football at Old Trafford, and then the Stock Exchange Hotel in the city centre.
