Manchester Restaurant Owner To Community: 'Try Us,We've Turned Things Around'

MANCHESTER, CT — The family that bought a Manchester restaurant about a year-and-a-half ago has written an impassioned letter vowing to have made up from an inherited mess.

And the community seems to have responded accordingly.

In a social media post, Haseeb Ahmed, who owns Cheek's Chicken and Waffles at 648 Center St. with his wife, Amama Ramzon, wrote on Dec. 17:

"Dear valued long-time (and former) Cheeks customers,

"My name is Haseeb, and I have been managing the Cheeks Manchester location for the past 1.5 years.

"When I took over the restaurant, it was going down hill (which I realized later)
After reading the Google reviews, I realized how many customers had consistently bad experiences—issues like unaccommodating management, inconsistent food quality, cleanliness problems, and even cases where customers placed an order online only to arrive and find the restaurant closed!

"No business can survive with problems like these.

"Since taking over, my family and I have worked incredibly hard to turn this place around. I haven’t had a single day off, and my wife even helped in the kitchen while caring for our 9-month-old baby. It has all been about dedication and never giving up.

"We have made numerous improvements, focusing directly on the issues raised in past reviews and doing our best to fix them. You’ll notice the difference the next time you visit .

"Nothing makes me happier than hearing from customers who had a bad experience in the past but now call just to say how much they enjoyed the food and service. It honestly brings tears to my eyes— knowing that I’ve made a positive difference here, or at least tried my hardest.

"Lately, to be honest, times have been tough. I believe many small businesses are facing similar challenges right now. That’s why community support means more than ever to places like ours to stay open.

"If you had a bad experience with us in the past, I kindly ask you to give Cheeks one more chance. Let me know your experience either by calling me or posting a feedback publicly

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

"Haseeb, Cheeks Chicken Manchester CT."

Customers seemed to have responded positively. Two days later, Cheek's set a single-day in-store sales record.

One customer wrote on the Cheek's Facebook page:

"Your open communication and honesty, along with your service to the community (and amazing food) has brought you what you deserve! Many more nights like this."

That "service to the community" took place during the period of suspended SNAP benefits related to the federal government shutdown, when Cheek's offered free kids meals to families in need.

Said Ahmed at the time, "As we got to know about the SNAP benefits that will be ending November First, we decided to do a post about this to support our community in a difficult time."

Ahmed said he and his wife decided to make it "not political" but "about the children," so the offer was for kids menu meals and the families must come to the restaurant.

The post went crazy on social media.

Now his letter to the community is doing the same.

Wrote one customer: "I haven’t eaten there since the old owners. But I can safely say I will be trying it again. Your contributions to the community, and positive attitude and posts are infectious.
Keep up the good work."

Wrote another, "I'm so happy you took over this location, I worked there for years when it first opened. and I'm glad to see it thriving again!! It has sooooo much potential."

One customer even came in, found out about an unpaid wing order, and took care of it.

Said Ahmed about the response, "I am out of words at the moment."

The actions of the community seem to go along with that.

Oh ... and there seems to be a menu addition coming.

"We will be serving grilled cheese, clam chowder and chicken noodle soup with crackers very soon," Ahmed said.