The owners of a popular sandwich shop in Manchester city centre have been left devastated after a break-in which has caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage.
Mira, which is located by Sadler's Cat pub on Hanover Street, was broken into in the early hours of Friday and ransacked by vandals, forcing it to close on its 'busiest' day of trading. Owners Mike Swain and Rhea Nickson have said it has hit them hard with a loss of over £1,000, including missed sales.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News following the break-in, Mike said: "Last week we were the unfortunate victims of a mindless act of vandalism at our unit at Sadler's Cat pub. At around 4am on Friday morning four lads forced entry into the unit and ransacked the place, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage to stock and forcing us to close on our busiest trading day.
Read more: Restaurant owner is 'sworn and screamed at' in controversial row over £10 table deposit
"As is well documented, small businesses have it tough at the moment. It's hit us quite hard with a loss of over £1,000 including missed sales from the Friday, which is a big blow considering the price rises we're facing. Nothing was stolen in the incident, it was simply a case of trashing the place for fun.
"I feel obliged to do my bit to try and catch these people and prevent them attacking someone else's property - be it at their home or their business."
Pictures of the damage were shared on Instagram and showed ingredients from the fridge strewn all over the floor, sauce on the walls and takeaway boxes lining the public square outside the sandwich shack. The caption read: "Tough one. Someone raided The Shack last night. Wrecked the place. Wasted a lot of good food.
"Sprayed hot sauce up the walls like a Formula 1 driver celebrating a Grand Prix win. Everyone knows small businesses are up against it atm, so you can imagine how this feels like a really, really hard kick in the nads."
The spot, which is known for its Neapolitan sandwiches, was launched by the couple in 2021, with its first pop-up inside The Crown & Kettle in Ancoats before residencies inside Ancoats General Store and Stretford and Sale food halls.
It recently moved to a pop-up shack next to Cloudwater-owned Sadler's Cat, a community pub in the heart of Manchester's NOMA district. They also have a concession in Macclesfield's Picturedrome.
Mike added: "It's just totally mindless, they've gone in and ransacked it, and they've totally destroyed a load of stock. There were meatballs all over the place, hot sauce up the walls, bread torn to shreds - it's pretty sickening to see really, our staff have put a lot of hard work into prepping things and it's a waste of their time.
"Cost wise, we've lost a few hundred pounds worth of stock, our greaseproof paper with logo on, and a day of trade. People depend on us to earn a living and have their own costs at home to worry about as well. It comes as the price of things is going up all the time, just last week we had an increase in the price of lettuce due to wet weather in Europe - it just feels like a cascading impact and this has just compounded all that, it's a huge kick in the teeth."
Mike has contacted the police and is hoping they catch those who broke in and damaged his shop. "It's baffling, they've targeted it as a bit of fun, it would have made more sense if they had stolen stock, but instead they've just ruined someone's small business."
Mike and Rhea first came up with the idea for their shack whilst travelling and decided to bring the rich and saucy Cuzzetiello-style sandwiches back to Manchester. Traditionally made by tearing off the end a loaf of bread, scooping out the bread and stuffing with a sandwich filling, Cuzzetiello roughly translates as 'bread bowl' sandwiches and is hugely popular in Southern Italy.
Mira's take on the butty includes fillings such as slow-cooked Genovese beef brisket and Italian meatballs in a slow-cooked ragu with basil and mozzarella. Since launching as a pop-up in May 2021, they've expanded their menu to include focaccia slab and sides and breakfast sandwiches.
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed an investigation into a burglary is still ongoing but no arrests have been made at this time.
Read more:
