Emmerdale star Adam Thomas launches his own restaurant in Gatley – take a look inside The Spinn

Former Emmerdale star Adam Thomas and his best friend Scott Graham had always dreamt of opening their own restaurant – ever since their school days at Kingsway High School in Cheadle.

Now that dream has come true with the launch of The Spinn restaurant and bar just down the road in Gatley.

Having talked about opening their own venue for so long, they finally decided to let fate take over last year – by placing a wager on a casino roulette wheel.  They decided that if they won, they’d take the plunge and open the restaurant of their dreams.

And what do you know?  Their number came up on the spin of that wheel.

Now, after months of hard work and the lads’ own time and money, they’ve opened The Spinn (so called after that fateful spinning roulette) – and they couldn’t be more delighted to have finally made their dream come true.

Adam, 31, and Scott, 32, have transformed a former electrical shop in Gatley into a stylish new restaurant spread over two floors.

I’m A Celebrity star Adam says: “We’ve been wanting to do this for years, even when we were at school we talked about opening our own place.

“We found a location that we fell in love with, and so when we were on a bit of a night out and ended up in a casino, we said we’d do a spin on the roulette and if we win we’ll go for it.  We didn’t win much money – it was more the significance of the bet to finally do this and it gave us that last push. That’s why we’ve named the restaurant The Spinn.”

Scott has plenty of experience in the food industry. He’s the owner of the Oh My Glaze street food company, while Adam has been throwing himself into restaurant life – even working behind the bar and washing up the dishes in the opening week.

They’ve created an all-day dining menu from brunch to dinner, and have aimed at bringing “a little bit of the city to the suburbs”.

Dad-of-two Adam says: “I’m from Cheadle, Scott is from Gatley, and we just felt something was missing round here.  Instead of going to town all the time, we wanted to bring a bit of the town into the suburbs. So far, everyone seems to love it and we’ve had a brilliant response from the local community.

“We wanted somewhere that we would love to go, but also somewhere our mums would like to go and have a glass of wine and have fun. It’s a bit of something for everybody.”

The interiors are a mix of industrial feel exposed brickwork with elegant leather booth seating, and splashes of intriguing artwork.  That includes the eye-catching retro Gatley posters created by acclaimed local art company Iconic Manchester that take pride of place in the main dining space.

In the downstairs bar area there’s a graffiti mural and a retro arcade game to give a fun feel, and every Thursday night the lads plan to host local musicians for a regular “live lounge”.

Adam, who played Adam Barton on Emmerdale for nine years until leaving last year, has also been getting plenty of support from his famous siblings – twin Scott Thomas of Love Island fame and older brother, former Coronation Street star Ryan Thomas.

Adam laughs: “It’s pretty much their bar as well, or so they keep telling me.  They’re really happy for me, they’re over the moon that I’ve finally done it.  This place will hopefully be a hub for all our friends to get together.”

Food at the venue is available all day and dining is on both floors.  Think brunch dishes like avocado toast, steak and eggs and breakfast burrito, onto lunchtime and dinner menu sharers and small plates including The Spinn’s signature tacos, halloumi fries and chicken wings.

The Spinn Cafe Bar and Lounge is open from 10am to 11pm weekdays and ’til 1am at weekends.

191-193 Gatley Road, Cheadle SK8 4BB