Diner buys meal for homeless man who lent him his shoes
A HOMELESS man who loaned an optician his shoes to get into a fancy restaurant has been treated to a meal there by his new friend – and has had three job offers.
Jonathon Byles lent his shoes to Akbar Badshah, whose sandals had been deemed inappropriate for upmarket Brazilian restaurant Fazenda.
Akbar bumped into Jon on Deansgate after the knock-back during a night out to celebrate his wife’s birthday. They got chatting about his predicament and Jon offered him his shoes so he would be allowed in.
Akbar was hugely grateful and contacted the Manchester Evening News. We tracked down Jon and now Akbar has treated his friend to a meal in the Spinningfields restaurant to say thanks.
The group were allocated a private booth, and staff at the restaurant brought Jon’s dog Ben and his friend some food while they waited outside.
Jon, 38, said: “The meal was amazing. I even brought a spare pair of shoes with me just in case Akbar didn’t have the right footwear. They did everything they could to make it the best they could. They put us in a special booth.
“It was a really good night. In some ways the rules of the restaurant allowed me to meet a really nice person. I hadn’t done anything anybody else wouldn’t have done.”
Jon said that since the article about him was published in the Manchester Evening News he has had three job offers from people who came up to him in the street saying they read his story. But because he is from New Zealand he has to wait to get his National Insurance number through so he can legally work here.
Speaking of his new-found fame, he said: “People have come up to me on the street since and said ‘you’re the guy from the paper, can I have your autograph?’
“One guy even gave me a £120 sweatshirt off his back. I said ‘Keep it,’ but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.’
Akbar said: “It was a lovely meeting. Jon said he loves his native New Zealand but all the love he has been shown in Manchester has convinced him to stay.”
Jon says he ended up on the streets after someone stole his passport leaving him unable to return to New Zealand following a holiday.
He has spent some of the last few months sleeping at a friend’s house in Salford although he is still a regular on the streets of Manchester,
He came to Manchester for what was supposed to be a two-week break on December 20 but his passport was stolen at a party which meant he couldn’t get his plane home. When his money ran out in the middle of January he was forced to sleep rough. He is a dairy farmer who also drives trucks and is licensed to operate heavy machinery.