The Mexican refurbishment

INTRO

Hi,

I'm John, part of The Mexican team trying to start a new business in an old shell. The restaurant is on the site of Fallowfield's Kosmos Greek restaurant, which had been trading successfully for 40 years but closed following the Covid pandemic.

The site is such that it doesn't have any accessible toilets on the main floor, they're in the basement, so this excludes people who are disabled and other members of the public who might find it challenging to access them.

As we're self-funded, we need help to bring the site up to specifications for access to all; the toilets in the basement also need an overhaul. We're looking for your help to make this happen!

Here's a little more info about what we'll be doing.

ABOUT US

The Mexican will bring delicious, healthily-prepared Mexican food to the people of Manchester, breathing fresh life into a restaurant forced to close during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fallowfield lost a much-loved restaurant as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown. Greek favourite Kosmos Taverna had traded for 40 years and was frequented by customers across Manchester and celebrities alike. At the restaurant's peak, owner Loulla Astin found fame as a regular celebrity chef on ITV's This Morning and on her own show, Simply Greek.

However, with no income coming into the business, Loulla had no option during lockdown but to keep paying staff using her own savings. And when the economy re-opened, the added pressures of recruiting new team members proved too much for the business. 

Loulla has given her full blessing and support to our new venture at the restaurant, which builds on her legacy of exceptional and accessible cuisine. She will also contribute some of her recipes to our new menu.

We are funding the project through our own capital, and will be creating new jobs for people in the South Manchester community.

The new restaurant will focus on clean, fresh Mexican cuisine, prepared to the healthiest possible standards for our guests. Vegan and vegetarian meals will feature prominently on our menu, and minimising the use of unnecessary fats, we will be equipping the kitchen with a charcoal grill and the latest air-frying technology.

We'll introduce a new neighbourhood bar area for sumptuous cocktails and drinks, and a Michelin star-winning chef is preparing our delicious menu. And to further our passion for healthy Mexican eating, we'll facilitate and run cooking workshops in the restaurant during the summer months; with any spare meals donated to disadvantaged children in the area.

However, from a development perspective, the restaurant has remained largely untouched since opening in the early '80s. It's our vision to bring the building up-to-date so that it is completely accessible to all our potential customers. 

Therefore, our goal through this campaign is to fund the modernisation of the premises to ensure a 40-year-old restaurant meets today's customer expectations and accessibility standards. As part of the work, we will be losing overall floor capacity from the original plans to create a new space for disabled access, including brand new WCs.

Every donation will be gratefully received as we breathe fresh new life into a Manchester institution.

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Mil gracias, John and the team at The Mexican.