A number of prominent UK chain restaurants have already signed up to take part in the Government’s new ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme beginning on August 1.
The Eat Out to Help Out scheme is part of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s #PlanForJobsannounced last week.
The scheme, which will run on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from Monday 3rd August – Monday 31st August 2020, will see restaurants and pubs in England offer a 50% discount up to a maximum of £10 per head as a way of encouraging diners to eat at their establishments.
There is no limit to the number of times that members of the public can use the offer during the period of the scheme, but customers cannot get a discount for someone who is not eating or drinking.
Alcohol and service charges will also be excluded from the offer.
Plenty of popular chain restaurants, pubs and fast food establishments across the UK – many of which have branches in the Greater Manchester area – have already signed up to take part in the scheme.
Here is everything we know about the eateries currently set to take part:
All Bar One – The owner of the restaurant and bar chain, which has locations on King Street in Manchester city centre and the Trafford Centre has confirmed the intent to take part in the scheme. It of course will not apply to alcoholic drinks, but if you’re just grabbing a bite to eat, or fancy a soft drink, you can get 50% off up to £10 a person.
Browns – The same rules as above will apply at Brown’s, which has a branch in Manchester city centre on York Street, meaning all food and soft drinks will be half price up to £10 a head, Monday – Wednesday, in August.
Burger King – Alasdair Murdoch, CEO at Burger King UK & Ireland, said that the fast food chain will be signing up to the scheme almost as soon as it was announced. Speaking on the BBC’s Coronavirus Newscast podcast, he said: “We’ll certainly be embracing it, as long as we can understand the terms and conditions and work them out.”
Frankie & Benny’s – The American-Italian restaurant chain, which has recently announced permanent closure of a number of branches nationwide but still has outlets in Greater Manchester, told media outlets it will be knocking 50% off the bill up to £10 each in August.
Find out more on the Frankie & Benny’s website here.
Harvester – Mitchells & Butlers, the firm behind the Harvester restaurant chain – which has a number of branches throughout Greater Manchester – said it is planning on registering with the scheme for August.
Nando’s – Fans of the ever-popular chicken chain restaurant, which has plenty of outlets open across the city centre and Greater Manchester, will be able to get their peri-peri fix at half-price too in August as Nando’s has confirmed it would be registering for the scheme.
Pizza Hut – Pizza Hut has confirmed it will be getting involved, and will have more than 100 restaurants open for dine-in customers across the UK within the next week.
Prezzo – Italian chain restaurant Prezzo, which has Greater Manchester locations at MediaCityUK and in Bolton, confirmed to media outlets that it is planning to get involved in the scheme in August.
Toby Carvery – Another brand run by Mitchells & Butlers, Toby Carvery – which announced new operational plans for reopening to customers last month – will also be offering 50% off food up to £10 a head on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August.
Wagamama – The popular Asian cuisine chain restaurant, with a number of outlets in Greater Manchester, will be taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, and the Rishi Sunak himself was even spotted helping to serve Wagamama’s customers shortly after making the announcement.
Pep Guardiola hints at when Manchester City fans can expect to see their latest arrival
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given supporters a rough timeline as to when they can expect to see their new signing, or at least their latest arrival, make his first appearance.
The Blues wrapped up the January transfer window with four major signings: their new attacking number seven, Omar Marmoush (who has already bagged a hattrick on his home debut) promising defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov and Brazilian Vitor Reis, as well as their ‘mini-Rodri’, Nico Gonzalez.
However, the club has had another late arrival who was technically signed back at the start of last year but who has spent for the last 12 months or so loaned back to his previous parent club, River Plate in Argentina, waiting to make the move over to the Etihad Stadium – and now he’s here in Manchester.
Speaking on his touchdown in 0161, Pep said Claudio Echeverri won’t be thrown into first-team action straight away but did give a rough estimate as to when City fans could expect him to get involved. You can see him discussing the integration plan in his post-match press conference following the Spurs win.
The mention was only brief but there’s still plenty of reason for Man City fans to be excited by the late January signing.
“Yeah, he [Claudio Echeverri] is going to start to train and mainly will be for the end of the season, maybe the [Club] World Cup and as soon as possible [that] he arrives he can adapt quick for the future.”
As mentioned, the 19-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder from Resistencia officially put pen to paper with CFG back in January 2024 and was quickly dubbed ‘the next Messi’.
Now, although the football world is often quick to jump the gun with these things and he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be last to be slapped with this premature title, he’s done more to back up these claims since then than he has rubbish them.
Starring at the 2025 Under-20 South American Championships, netting six goals in nine games to finish the tournament as the second highest scorer thanks to notable braces against Brazil and Uruguay as the young Argentine’s finished as runners up.
He also notched 48 senior appearances for River Plate thus far, netting four goals and grabbing eight assists in that time, not to mention having already captained his national team at the 2023 Under 17s World Cup, where he scored another five.
Safe to say there’s plenty of talent to be tapped in this lad.
Once again, Echeverri won’t go straight into the senior set-up for a little while yet, barring a major injury crisis, but he’ll be a more than exciting addition to the City Football Academy and for future first-team lineups for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be included in an FA Cup matchday squad? Nevertheless, you can expect him to not just come of the bench but hopefully show what he can do at the Club World Cup this summer.
City‘s first fixture as reigning champions of the competition will be against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June 2025.
You can watch Echeverri’s first full interview as a Man City player down below:
The new Man City signing is excited to be finally be part of the club 13 months on from agreeing his contract.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
The Manc -
13th July 2020 
