Leigh Magic Monkey up for sale as owners step down

Magic Monkey, in Leigh’s Broadway, has been placed on the market as owners Janel Hussein and Jamie Gordon search for a “reliable pair of hands” to take the business to the next level. 

The restaurant, which offers various small plate meals fusing Caribbean and Mediterranean influences, has recently won “best atmosphere” at the Essex Life Food and Drink Awards 2024.  

However, Janel and Jamie believe they have taken the restaurant as far as they can and are hoping new management can step in to provide extra investment and boost the offering. 

They’re hoping whoever takes over the leasehold, on offer for £120,000, will keep on current staff.

Sleek - The Magic Monkey (Image: Jamel Hussein)
Janel said: “My partner and I do not have the time or the extra money to put into the business, we built it to a good status but we want to pass it to people with more time, who can expand.

“We built it to a point where we are happy, but in the UK, it is hard for small businesses to survive and the costs are going up. We can’t increase our pricing, it is not a good time for business.

“We also both have fulltime jobs, we have been doing this all alongside it and it is fully staff run, we have to put a lot of time into this and we can’t put time in if there is little reward.”

In terms of an ideal owner for the popular restaurant, Janel has said that they need someone with “some culture” to keep with the what the Magic Monkey currently offers as well as “someone with time and money.”

She added: “The Monkey has great potential and we want someone who wont come in and leave it.

“We have seen the business come a long way.When I came into it, it was quite flat and we introduced brunch, we won an award and it is true that the restaurant is my baby, we don’t want to let it go.

“We want to pass it on while we have a good reputation.”

Janel is hoping to complete a sale in the new year and has ensured the business will continue running as usual in the meantime.