By
Jonathan Beckman
1 min read
By
Jonathan Beckman
A Manchester entrepreneur is opening a supervised gourmet steak-house with the aim of attracting kosher and non-kosher diners.
Due to launch in Prestwich in March, Rare will be the city's most prominently positioned kosher restaurant - a 60-seat glass-fronted corner unit on one of the major thoroughfares into the city centre.
It will boast a chef from top Tel Aviv restaurant Liliyot.
Over the past 18 months, a similar gourmet venture in Manchester has closed and an established kosher restaurant, JS, has reopened following a financial restructuring after voluntary liquidation.
But Daniel Zatman - who has managed 40 restaurants for a major contract catering firm in venues as varied as Heathrow Airport and the Ministry of Justice - believes his business model is recession-proof.
"It's going to be a high-quality kosher restaurant of similar look, feel and expectation to a quality general restaurant," he said. "I would be foolish not to try to get non-kosher custom.
"People are spending a lot of money on food they can cook at home. If a restaurant excites you and adds value to your life, people are willing to spend on that."
Mr Zatman, 34, comes from a well-known family of Manchester lawyers. He moved his wife and two children from London three months ago because of the restaurant project, which is under Manchester Beth Din supervision.
"In London, there are school costs, house prices, a lot of expectation and expense," he observed. "I've gone against the flow because I guess my heart is in Manchester."