‘The man has Aura’
A popular restaurant and takeaway in Greater Manchester has recently been visited by a top footballer – adding to the list of top names to visit the well-known food spot.
West Indian kitchen Sunrise Caribbean now has three sites across Greater Manchester – with its original shop in Salford and another in Openshaw, which opened two years ago. Starting life more than 20 years ago as a food van in Salford, Sunrise opened their original venue in the borough’s Broughton Lane five years later.
Originally started by cousins Kevin and Michelle, Sunrise also expanded its empire with a kitchen within the Kargo.MKT food hall in MediaCity, Salford Quays earlier this year selling their popular dishes like coconut jerk chicken, saltfish, lamb chops, vegetarian curry, and fried dumplings.
Already a firm favourite with famous faces like Lionesses player Chloe Kelly, Mel B and Manchester boxer Zelfa Barrett, Sunrise shared a picture with Liverpool FC captain Virgil van Dijk having popped in-store last week. The Dutch footballer, who has been a centre-back for the Liverpool squad since 2017, also captains the Netherlands team.
Virgil, 34, posed for a photograph with co-owner Michelle at their Openshaw store, with the restaurant claiming he had loved the food so much he had gone back for more. They posted: “Big @virgilvandijk enjoying some real Jamaican food from Sunrise. Enjoyed the Lemon Pepper Jerk so much he Came back for seconds.”
Whilst appreciative of his visit, the team at Sunrise didn’t waste the opportunity to make their allegiances known by adding: “United fan for life but the man has Aura.” The post was met with glowing praise from regulars of the restaurant, who championed the footballer for his taste in food.
The post comes as the restaurant is helping local charities spread some festive cheer in their neighbourhood. The Sunrise team were also recently pictured with the Two Brews Homeless Charity where they donated hot meals to the community. The restaurant wrote: “This week, we proudly partnered with @two_brews_homeless_charity to provide hot meals for those in need. At Sunrise, we believe good food should bring people together and that includes our most vulnerable. Big love to the whole Two Brews team for the work they do across Manchester. This is just the beginning.”
Virgil’s visit to Sunrise comes just weeks after rival City player, Erling Haaland was pictured enjoying a meal at a restaurant in Manchester’s Chinatown. Having visited Happy Seasons, which has been going since 1982, the owner said they were were ‘massively shocked’ by his arrival. Due to his enjoyment there, the restaurant later jokingly renamed the dish Erling ordered in his honour – with the M.E.N giving the £15 meal a review.
Sunrise Caribbean Kitchen is on 120 Broughton Lane, Salford, M7 1UF, as well as at Kargo.MKT food hall in MediaCity, and on 1317 Ashton Old Road, Openshaw, M11 1JS.
