The owner of the Lime Tree restaurant said the band’s Heaton Park gigs saved his business from closure during the ‘toughest’ year
08:02, 10 Sep 2025Updated 08:07, 10 Sep 2025
The Lime Tree restaurant in Prestwich
The owner of a top Prestwich restaurant has taken to social media to thank Oasis for saving his business.
Johnny Gupta, who runs the Lime Tree on Bury Old Road, last night thanked Oasis for saving his restaurant from closure. The owner said that the venue, which has been open 17 years, has had a fresh new look and has been saved from closure thanks to Oasis’ Heaton Park gigs that took place nearby.
Posting a photo of his freshly painted restaurant on the Lime Tree’s Facebook page, Johnny said: “Lime Tree has had a fresh look, thanks to Oasis and they saved this restaurant from closing, so now, we can continue to serve our freshly cooked food to the community and beyond”.
Thanking Gmcpainting, the business that gave his business the “fresh look”, he added: “Our story is a powerful reminder of the positive impact that community collaboration and support can have, especially for local businesses and residents.
“We have been here 17 years and this was the hardest year, and I hope that all the businesses can survive, breathe, invest, grow, make money and give back to society in our community.
“The spirits and the souls did rise for us and they showed us love, peace, music and we all embraced it – they will rise again!!”
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Just weeks before Oasis’ comeback gigs earlier this year, Johnny spoke to the Manchester Evening News, saying how businesses in the area would need to stay open during the shows in order to recoup the costs and trade they missed out on during Parklife.
Whilst his Indian restaurant was open during the festival, he said trade was quiet – but that was something he expected. He said he is now being forced to ‘adapt’ his opening hours to try and attract Oasis fans as they head to Heaton Park.
“We’re going to be on the world map here,” Johnny said. “But it is going to be a much longer period of time than Parklife for us – the shows are across nine days.
“I can’t close my business down for that period of time. Why should my livelihood and my staff’s livelihood have to suffer when these events occur? Is it right that we suffer? No, it isn’t.
“We should be able to prosper too, so we just have to figure out how to adapt and try to make people come to visit us either before or after the shows. We don’t want people to forget about us.”
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The Lime Tree’s owner shared the M.E.N. story on the restaurant’s Facebook page just after Oasis’ Heaton Park gigs took place, saying this year has been their “toughest”, but added that it was a “God send that Oasis came to us at the right time”.
Johnny added: “Parklife most businesses suffer and make a loss – so I made a plea to the Oasis fans and our community, residents and businesses to support us in Prestwich and they all did – THANK YOU AND TO EVERYONE – we did us all proud!!”
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