‘Touching’ gesture from restaurant manager as 18 staff members from Southsea nursery plagued by car crashes enjoy free meal

Last night, a group of 18 hungry staff members from Rainbow Corner Nursery enjoyed mains, sides, and drinks at Wagamama in Gunwharf.

The Southsea nursery’s neighbour Kyle Whittall happens to be manager at the Japanese cuisine-inspired restaurant.

Lucy Whitehead, nursery owner, said that Kyle offered the free meal to her staff in recognition of the tough two years they have faced.

In addition to the challenges it faced due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rainbow Corner also suffered two separate crashes in the space of two years as cars crashed into its boundary wall late at night.

Lucy said: ‘I was blown away by the offer from Kyle as it’s not something you get every day, a lovely gesture.

‘The restaurants have also had a tough year with the pandemic, so it was really touching.’

Bollards and other road safety measures have now been put in place on Victoria Road North outside the nursery following a long-running campaign.

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Kyle, who has worked at Wagamama for about a year and half, said: ‘I live over the road from them and I’ve witnessed at least four crashes on this road, two of which have had a direct impact on the nursery itself.

‘We’ve all had a pretty hard couple of years, and it felt like they’d had a rougher couple of years than most of us.

‘This kind of thing is something Wagamama really tries to promote.

‘I couldn’t think of anyone more befitting of a little treat than the guys at the nursery. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

‘My team took care of them and made sure they had a really good night.’

Lucy added: ‘I just wanted to say thank you very much for what he did.

‘It coincided with us having a staff wellbeing week where we have had lots of treats for the staff. It gave us an opportunity to go out and have a treat.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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