A Leeds restaurant group has surprised its foodie fans by making the decision to expand into the world of beauty by adding a salon to its repertoire.
The team behind Culto Italian and Poco Sicilian have taken over Spirals, a Meanwood hair salon that has been on the same parade as them for decades.
They made the decision to take on the salon after finding out that the previous owner was planning to retire, feeling that it would be a shame to lose such a piece of Meanwood history if the new owners decided to turn it into something else altogether.
The team behind Culto Italian and Poco Sicilian have taken over the Spirals, a Meanwood hair salon that has been on the same parade as them for decades / Image: LINEA
"Just like this, right in the middle of the pandemic, lockdown, and staff shortages, we took over the business to keep it as a hairdressers salon," the team said in a social media post.
"The main idea was to create the salon that we ourselves and all residents would want to visit regularly. The perfect destination where you could escape your daily routine, relax and treat yourself without breaking the bank. An affordable indulgence, if you want.'
The team is known in Leeds for its popular Italian eateries POCO Sicilian (team pictured) and CULTO / Image: Poco Sicilian
Applying the concept of “Beauty in Simplicity” to the new salon, which they've named LINEA, the space is dedicated to enhancing your natural beauty - offering treatments on everything from hair to brows and nails.
Following the mantra of "less is more" they promise they won't be offering anything "artificial or over the top, only the necessary treatments that will make you feel and look beautiful."
"We know, it sounds ridiculous - a team specialising in restaurants have decided to go into beauty now. To be honest, there was not a single day when we haven’t regretted this decision," they continued.
"But, on the other hand, we’ve created CULTO and Poco from scratch once, and we are up for a challenge, even if we have to completely step out of our comfort zone this time."
The salon is located on the same parade as restaurant CULTO / Image: CULTO
As well as helping you to perfect your hair, brows and nails, further treatments on offer at the salon will also include lashes.
Keeping in step with the ethos of the restaurants, products used in the salon will be vegan and cruelty-free.
The team will be using the Kevin Murphy range for hair treatments and colouring, which they say are the "best on the market" for those who want organic, cruelty-free, sulphate and paraben-free vegan products.
To create ethical but stylish nails, meanwhile, they'll be working with The Gel Bottle company - which is also 100% cruelty-free and vegan.
The CULTO team pictured outside their restaurant on the Meanwood parade / Image: CULTO
Explaining their decision to take over the salon, the team said: "When we first found out last year that the owner of the Spirals, the hair salon that’s been on our parade for decades, decided to retire and sell the business, we thought it would be a shame to lose this piece of Meanwood history if the new owners would turn it into something completely different.
Followers were quick to offer their support, with one commenting "This will be a great addition to Meanwood, look forward to visiting."
Another simply said, "You guys are amazing!"
To keep up to date with LINEA, you can follow them on Instagram here and find the salon at 93 Stainbeck Road, Meanwood, Leeds.
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Leeds Bradford Airport strikes will NOT go ahead following ‘late offer’ over pay
Clementine Hall
This weekend's strikes at Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled.
Around 130 workers were set to walk out this weekend, Unite said, but this has been suspended to allow air traffic controllers to consider a new pay offer.
The Unite members planning on to go on strike were a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute had recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity which led to the decision to strike.
However, as of yesterday 15 October, the workers have been given new pay offers from the airport and the strikes will not take place to allow a ballot on the offers.
Air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff are being balloted separately on their respective offers.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "After receiving offers from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have suspended this week’s strike action in good faith to allow members to vote on pay deals.”
In a statement, Leeds Bradford Airport said: "While the ballot process continues with certain members of our frontline colleagues, we remain hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved and that an agreement can be reached which works for everyone involved.
"Regardless of the outcome of this ballot, LBA has a robust contingency plan in place and will be operating as normal this weekend.
"Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and reliable experience for customers while maintaining safe and efficient airport operations."
Georgina Pellant -
13th September 2021 
