‘Is it right that we suffer? No, it isn’t’
The owner of a Prestwich restaurant has spoke about how it is needing to adapt for the Oasis gigs(Image: Google/Simon Emmett)
The owner of a top Prestwich restaurant has spoken about how he will be ensuring his business can survive the impact of the Oasis gigs at Heaton Park.
The legendary Manchester band will be bringing their LIVE ‘25 shows to the 600-acre park for five shows between July 11 and 20. Like during Parklife, a number of road closures will be in place to ensure the safety of gig-goers to and from the shows.
During this year’s Parklife, Italian restaurant L’Aquila on Bury Old Road decided to shut over the event weekend after saying they were left with ‘no option’ but to close due to the road closures affecting trade.
Johnny Gupta, who has run The Lime Tree on Bury Old Road for the last 17 years, has said that businesses in the area will now need to stay open during the Oasis shows in order to recoup the costs and trade they missed out on during Parklife.
Whilst his Indian restaurant was open during the festival, he said trade was quiet – but that was something he expected. He said he is now being forced to ‘adapt’ his opening hours to try and attract Oasis fans as they head to Heaton Park.
The Lime Tree Indian restaurant on Bury Old Road, in Prestwich, has been open for 17 years now(Image: Johnny Gupta)
“We’re going to be on the world map here,” Johnny tells the Manchester Evening News. “But it is going to be a much longer period of time than Parklife for us – the shows are across nine days.
“I can’t close my business down for that period of time. Why should my livelihood and my staff’s livelihood have to suffer when these events occur? Is it right that we suffer? No, it isn’t.
“We should be able to prosper too, so we just have to figure out how to adapt and try to make people come to visit us either before or after the shows. We don’t want people to forget about us.”
Across show days, The Lime Tree will be open from 1pm until 1am – with hot food served between 5pm and 12pm. Alongside their popular Indian dishes, they will also be serving chips, burgers and chicken wings for those wanting a quick bite.
Heaton Park will host five Oasis shows between July 11 and 20(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“We can’t really moan about it because it’s coming here whether we like it or not,” Johnny explains. “So, it’s about turning it into a positive for us and trying to make some money back.
“We do not make money during Parklife, the people who go there are not interested in visiting a nearby restaurant. We don’t want a million pounds, we want enough to be able to survive. It is already a tough time to run a restaurant and a business.
“I like to think that the crowds at Oasis will be more civilised and respectful of the area, and be willing to pop into local businesses and give us a try – whether it’s for a drink, a meal or even a place to have a snack as they wait for a taxi.
“This is about us as a community working together to make sure that everybody is happy – people go to restaurants, bars and cafes to escape reality and enjoy themselves.
The Lime Tree’s owner Johnny Gupta said he is ‘adapting’ to appeal to Oasis fans visiting Heaton Park
“We always try to do the right thing. We look after our loyal customers, and we want to look after the people from out of town too if they will support us. We could actually thrive if people actually visit us.”
Earlier this year, Johnny spoke about how the industry was struggling to survive with skyrocketing business rate bills – describing it as being ‘like hamsters on a wheel of fire’.
Discussing the rise in tax and rates, he asked: “How are we going to survive and live a decent, honest and hardworking life in this country!”
The Lime Tree is on 213 Bury Old Road, Prestwich, M25 1JF.