Mustafa Kamara should be busy. His café is spotless, he has a huge menu at reasonable prices - full English for £6; lasagne, Bolognese, curries all for under £7.
Mustafa is an experienced chef, having worked for over 20 years in kitchens across the region including Rosso restaurant and City Suite Hotel. He came to Gorton intending to open a community cafe. In a bid to cut costs, he has stripped back his staff and keeps as much of his equipment as possible switched off throughout the day in an effort to reduce his electricity bill. He’s also recently started taking online orders through Deliveroo – which was never part of the plan.
“That was before my time – I would never have allowed that to be built,” she said. “It’s a one-stop shop and people are more likely to go in there.” “Everyone is being hit by the increase in cost-of-living. People just have less disposable income,” she said. “They’re spending it on food, heating, basic clothing. Gas and electric has gone up too, and unfortunately we can’t afford to offset that.
Another who wanted to remain anonymous was asking customers to write their phone numbers down when the M.E.N visited, in case they had to close. “The increases are putting me out of business,” they said. Another expressed how much the place means to the local community. "It’s not just a market," they wrote. "It’s somewhere people can go have a coffee, a bite to eat and sit with other people, it's good for your mental health. I love it."