A number of venues have sadly closed their doors over the last few months
Street Urchin, in Ancoats, has been forced to close its doors(Image: Street Urchin)
At present, it’s hard to scroll through your phone or open the paper without seeing another hospitality closure.
Despite a raft of new openings across the city and Greater Manchester over the last six months, it remains an incredibly challenging environment for operators – with some suggesting it is harder now than during the pandemic.
Over the last five years, the industry has had to operate within a tumultuous trading environment, tackling everything from Covid and Brexit, to increased energy costs, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. And for many, the challenges keep coming.
Ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement last month, the Manchester Evening News spoke to those in the industry about the upcoming fiscal changes including increases to National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and National Living Wage for employers, as well as a reduction in the discount on the business rates relief.
It was estimated that changes in last year’s budget would equate to an ‘increased annual tax bill of £3bn for the sector’. Kate Nicholls, the CEO of UKHospitality, said ‘the tsunami of employment costs coming in April would ultimately do more to hamper growth than incentivise it’.
For many operators, these changes, albeit welcome in terms of giving their staff a fair wage, have made it increasingly difficult to keep operating. It has, in part, contributed to an uptick in closures across the region, and sadly already this year we have seen a number of venues shutter for good.
Off the Wheaten Track – Altrincham
Hayley and David Hadfield have announced they are closing their award-winning deli business Off the Wheaten Track in Altrincham after six year(Image: Off the Wheaten Track)
The award-winning deli, hailed as the first in the region to offer a totally gluten-free menu, closed its doors at the start of this year. Off the Wheaten Track, on Oxford Road in Altrincham, made the shock announcement on its Instagram account saying its “journey has come to an end.”
The business, which was run by husband-and-wife team Hayley and David Hadfield, was forced to close due to the uncertainty over increasing costs, despite the “blood, sweat, tears, angst, stress and many sacrifices” put into their business.
Hayley said: “To be honest the recent government budget, business rate changes and rental increase has created cause for concern, making us seriously consider our future as business owners. The reality is, our lease is coming to an end.”
Crowded House – Bury
Crowded House in Bury
The much-loved dining spot and bar was opened by husband-and-duo, Johanne and Dave Banks, in 2015 and also encompassed a salon. However, the owners said in January that the ‘odds were so stacked against us’ in an emotional post on social media, prompting a huge response from customers.
Explaining the reasons for closure, the pair told customers that every cost seemed to be going up. They also broke down the staggering increase in their bills, including a doubling of their utilities and 327% increase in their insurance bills.
The Botanist – MediaCity, Salford Quays
(Image: Supplied)
New World Trading Company announced the closure of The Botanist, Media City at Salford Quays in January.
The company issued a statement claiming that the closure was the result of a landlord decision to seek new tenants as part of the Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) process. Earlier in January, the group also closed three other sites amid an ongoing company restructure.
Damhouse – Astley, Wigan
The Damhouse tea room in Astley, Wigan(Image: Damhouse)
The decision to close the popular vintage tea room was met by an outpouring of sadness from customers earlier this year.
A notice on the venue’s Facebook page explained how the businesses was ‘no longer sustainable’ in its current form.
It said: “The current economic situation and downturn in trade over recent months has resulted in mounting losses. Despite the efforts of the trustees and the staff, they have reached the point where the Tea Room business in its current operating model is no longer sustainable.”
Osma – Prestwich
OSMA(Image: Publicity Picture)
The Scandinavian-influenced, Michelin-rated restaurant OSMA had been a feature of the village since it opened in 2020, but in January it shocked residents by announcing its closure.
A collaboration between Sofie Stoermann-Nass and Danielle Heron, the name is an homage to their hometowns of Oslo and Manchester. Its cooking landed it a place in the Michelin Guide last year for dishes which celebrate ingredients from local farmers, while seeking inspiration far beyond Bury New Road.
The move was said to be because the restaurant had ‘struggled to find experienced staff’ to work in Prestwich. However, owners did say they would be moving to an un-named Manchester city centre location.
Dockyard – Didsbury
A Greater Manchester boozer bid farewell to its customers after four years earlier this year. The Dockyard Didsbury served its last pint yesterday on January 19, but confirmed that it’s two other sites at MediaCity in Salford Quays and Barons Quay in Northwich will remain open.
Despite being a key part of the much-loved Didsbury Dozen pub crawl, it was quickly replaced by another bar concept. It later reopened as The Salmon of Knowledge, an Irish bar that’s proven successful since landing in Manchester’s Northern Quarter last year.
Little Bao Boy – Oxford Road, Manchester
Little Bao Boy at North Bar Taproom in Manchester(Image: Vincent Cole – Manchester Evening News)
Little Bao Boy, which serves up homemade bao buns and traditional Asian food with a western influence, confirmed its street food concept would be leaving the city centre back in January.
They started serving their freshly made bao and street food staples in January 2023 inside the North Bar Taproom located within the Circle Square neighbourhood on Oxford Road.
Updating followers they wrote: “It was a tough decision as we’ve had a blast there the last couple of years but sometimes you need to take one step back to take two more forward.
“We want to ram all our focus into making Leeds as good as it can be and that’s what we’re going to do moving into this year. We just want to say a massive thank you to everyone from Manchester who has come down to support us over the years it really does mean a lot!”
Almost Famous – Manchester City Centre
Almost Famous helped launch the “dirty food” trend in the city(Image: Supplied)
One of the biggest closures of the past six months came from burgers aficionados Almost Famous when they announced the closure of all their sites.
Explaining the reason for the closure of the brand in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, owner Beau Myers cited the current economic climate and ‘lingering debt’.
Beau first launched Almost Famous in Manchester’s Northern Quarter back in 2012 – pioneering the “dirty burger” trend in the city and sparking queues around the block from hungry punters desperate to get inside. He closed the brand’s Withington site last year.
In an unexpected turn, just a few weeks later, However, the Northern Quarter site and Liverpool outpost were reopened under new owners D2, the team behind Liverpool’s popular PINS Social Club, in February.
In an update explaining the acquisition, they outlined what they had learnt in the first week of operating, along with the reason for acquiring the brand, the latest situation with staff pay, and what customers could do about gift vouchers.
Seven Brothers – Middlewood Locks, Salford
Seven Brothers closed their Middlewood Lock beerhouse after five years earlier this year(Image: Seven Brothers)
The craft brewery, which was started in 2014 by seven brothers who grew up helping their father ‘make homebrew in the cellar of their family home’ in Salford, closed down its Middlewood Locks beerhouse, on Lockside Lane in Salford, with immediate effect in January.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News following the news, co-founder Keith McAvoy said: “We faced closure three months after opening due to the pandemic and the financial implications of this are still an issue. Then it was followed up with extortionately high utility bills due to the Ukraine conflict.”
Keith claimed that when Seven Bro7hers decided to move into the Middlewood Locks development, which is located within the New Maker Yards neighbourhood, they were ‘given assurances’ that strides would be made to make the area a food and beverage destination with more restaurants and bars set to join them.
“It has just never become the destination we were led to believe it would become when we first agreed to operate there,” Keith added. “We’re so disappointed we couldn’t keep things going but we were backed into a corner, leaving us with no choice but to sadly close.”
Lazy Sundae – Northern Quarter
In January, owners of the dessert and bubble tea shop said it was with a ‘heavy heart’ that they were closing their original site but said it was for ‘reasons beyond our control’ after facing ‘landlord difficulties’.
The home-grown ice cream parlour is the creation of husband-and-wife duo, Kowk and Jacqueline Dang, who have a background in setting up successful Manchester businesses. They opened the first Lazy Sundae branch in 2021 and two years later opened a concession inside the Arndale shopping centre.
Sharing the news with customers on Instagram at the time, they said they were ‘forever grateful’ to those who had visited the Northern Quarter branch, and that its Arndale site would remain open.
George’s – Worsley
George’s Dining Room and Bar, the neighbourhood restaurant co-owned by Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, closed with “immediate effect”, in January. The Worsley restaurant was opened by the former Reds star and two of his old school pals amid a fanfare of publicity back in 2014.
Footballer Giggs had realised a lifelong dream opening the restaurant and the trio had said they had always wanted to own a restaurant together and to make Worsley into a “foodie destination”.
Messages seen by the M.E.N., that were sent to staff at the time, read: “This is due to the obvious reduction in trade and business against the huge increases in costs of operating the business and the ongoing cost of living crisis”.
The Waltzing Matilda boat – Marple, Stockport
Usually found along the Macclesfield Canal between Stockport and Cheshire, The Waltzing Matilda narrowboat cafe had been popular for its pop-up café serving freshly-made Neapolitan pizzas since 2020, but in February it called it a day.
Run by father-and-son duo Paul and Chris Edwards, the venture took on different locations each weekend. Alongside their pizzas, they also served a selection of cakes, hot drinks, and milkshakes.
Explaining the reasons for closure, the pair explained that it had ‘become increasingly unmanageable’ to balance the business alongside their part-time jobs and said they would not be reopening the boat café.
They also hoped the business would continue going forward with a new owner. They are intending to sell the business and hope that ‘someone else will pick up the torch and continue this incredible journey’.
63 Degrees – Northern Quarter
In February, family-run French restaurant 63 Degrees quietly closed down for good after 14 years in the Northern Quarter.
A classic Parisian dining spot, the restaurant was owned by the Moreau family and was established to bring a taste of Paris to Manchester. Putting haute cuisine front and centre, it focused on classic dishes and put the Northern Quarter on the map for French dining.
However, speculation about its future first arose during a period of uncertainty over the Christmas period. A sign on the door of the restaurant on High Street first informed customers that they would be closed from December 22 until January 11. However, this was subsequently updated to January 30, but the venue never reopened.
Subsequently, the restaurant’s founder confirmed its closure to news outlet Manchester Confidential. Founder Alexandre Moreau said that his parents, Head Chef Eric and his mother, had returned to France following a period of ill health.
KimJi – Ramsbottom, Bury
KimJi, a Korean restaurant located on Bolton Street in Ramsbottom made the sad announcement that it would be closing in February.
The family run business first launched their restaurant in the centre of Preston in 2018 after seeing that the area needed ‘good quality, interesting food choices’. It then opened a second branch in Ramsbottom in the summer of 2021.
In an emotional post shared to its Facebook page, owners of the popular dining spot said they would be shutting shop after initial plans to relocate to Bury were ‘unsuccessful’. In the farewell post, they thanked customers for being part of their journey and explained that their lease was coming to an end.#
Unagi – Salford Quays
Famed sushi restaurant Unagi has closed one of its Greater Manchester sites with immediate effect(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The owners of sushi restaurant Unagi, which have numerous sites across the city-region, pulled down the shutters on the Salford Quays site in February after deciding not to renew their licence on the space.
Previously home to Lime Bar, the spot next to the Quayside MediaCityUK shopping centre and The Lowry theatre only opened in August last year – claiming to be the biggest sushi bar in the north.
The huge 225–cover restaurant included a Tokyo 7 cocktail bar alongside a suntrap outdoor terrace and a show-stopping sushi bar which sat in the centre of the venue where diners could watch chefs as they prepared meals.
Dokes – Prestwich
The restaurant opened in 2022 on Bury New Road(Image: Manchester Evening News)
In February, Dokes Pizzeria on Bury New Road called it a day after two and a half years in the town.
In a update shared on social media, owner Michael Clay, who also runs Elnecot restaurant and bar in Ancoats, said they had tried their hardest but would but shutting its doors.
In the post, the team also explained some of the reasons for closure, with Michael saying it was not possible to ‘make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant’.
He said: “We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.
“So it is with a heavy heart that we are closing the door on this chapter BUT…we aren’t going to be leaving you completely…”We have plans for the place which we will be updating you about very soon so please watch this space for more details.”
Second City – Trafford Centre
Second City, a popular coffee shop and wholesale business has confirmed it will be leaving its location at Trafford Palazzo at the end of February.
The business, which had operated its small coffee shop out of a mobile espresso bar at the shopping centre adjoining the Trafford Centre for four years, said its time there was coming to an end in an emotional post online.
They wrote in an update online: “Although not without is challenges we’ve had a blast since day one.
“Since Peel took over we’ve seen the space go from many empty units to almost full with lots of exciting businesses which makes it super hard to leave and not reap the rewards we’ve worked so hard for hey ho.”
Hip Hop Chip Shop
The Hip Hop Chip Shop is closing its doors for good this weekend after 11 years(Image: The Hip Hop Chip Shop)
It was one of Manchester’s best-loved chippies but earlier this year it bid farewell to its Ancoats home.
The Hip Hop Chip Shop, which has a base on Blossom Street in Ancoats, shut down in March after the owners revealed they were sadly ‘joining the chorus of independent businesses calling it a day’.
Led by Jonathan ‘Ozzie’ Oswald, Luke Stocks, and Holly Oswald, the chippy, which started life as a mobile van concept, has had many accolades to its name including most recently being named a runner-up for Best Cafe at the English Chippy Awards 2024.
Explaining the reasons for closing down, the team wrote: “Although Ancoats was an amazing area for us to embark on our bricks & mortar dream, the cost increases from Brexit, Covid, Energy, VAT (halving it would save a lot in the industry), BB Loans etc has meant it’s unviable in its current form – we would’ve had to increase prices much more than we’d be comfortable with to get the margins we need to keep going.
Amore Coffee and Desserts – Westhoughton
Situated on the A6 in Westhoughton, Amore Coffee and Desserts first opened its doors in March 2017 and became a popular spot for its selection of coffees, sandwiches, breakfasts and cakes.
Run by Rachel Mort, the Bolton café on Manchester Road also served up waffles, cookie dough, milkshakes and ice cream sundaes in a variety of special flavours, often using ingredients from local suppliers and businesses including Slattery’s.
But in March, Rachel made the decision to close down after ‘wrestling’ with the decision for over a year.
She explained to her customers: “Whilst the shop has brought so many beautiful people into my life, and has created so many amazing connections, it has also had the opposite effect, it brings stress, worry, entrapment and no room for my own personal growth. Light and dark in all areas.”
Loaf – Manchester City Centre
The bakery and cafe on Oxford Road in Manchester(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Loaf MCR, which had three locations across Greater Manchester, served its last customers on April 30.
In a heartbreaking post shared to social media last month, owner Aiden Ryan confirmed that he had made the ‘incredibly tough decision’ to close all sites following a difficult year and a ‘financial domino effect’ that was ‘impossible to recover from’.
The bakery and cafe chain was created by baker Aiden in the pandemic to raise money for the NHS. The loaf cakes became a hit and they were soon supplying cafes across the city as well as high-end retailers.
Desert Island Dumplings
Based on the third floor of Affleck’s in the Northern Quarter, Desert Island Dumplings served up a range of vegan dishes including salt and pepper chips, hash browns, noodles – and of course, dumplings.
A Liverpool native, Lucy along with her housemate thought up the idea after noticing the lack of options for vegans and veggies in the city.
But in April, the takeaway and cafe called it a day on Manchester. Lucy wrote: “We’ve rolled with the punches these past couple of years, and the shop is better than ever – but wrapping things up at Afflecks is the right decision for us.”
Herbivorous
Herbivorous, a vegan street food business which has become a firm fixture of the city’s street food scene, announced its exit from Withington high street last month.
Owners Robyn Marsh and Damian Myles first started by popping up at festivals and venues including Ancoats General Store, Stretford Foodhall and their first base at Hatch. Their south Manchester site on Wilmslow Road has been selling vegan street food since 2021.
Though it has become a mainstay of the city’s plant-based food scene, owners said it had become ‘really difficult to maintain a thriving business’ as they cited challenges such as the pandemic, wider competition and the closure of Hatch food and drink village on Oxford Road.
Street Urchin – Ancoats
Street Urchin opened six years ago and has been recognised by top food critics(Image: Street Urchin)
Street Urchin, located on Great Ancoats Street, first opened its doors in 2019 by couple Kevin and Rachel Choudhary as an ‘English market diner’ serving up dishes made with locally sourced ingredients and was once hailed as a ‘place where good things happen’ by food critic Jay Rayner.
But in early May, its owners called it a day, with Rachel explaining that her husband Kevin had suffered a medical episode which had meant they had been made to prioritise other things right now.
The news was met with support from customers, who wished Kevin well on his road to recovery and shared memories of their time at the restaurant. One person said: “Sending you both very best wishes: we love your restaurant and hope that we’ll see you back again one day.”
Oystercatcher – Sale
The Oystercatcher, which is known for its selection of fresh and seasonal fish and seafood dishes, started life with its restaurant in Chorlton, which was opened in 2018 by owners Duncan Ranyard, formerly of Hispi, and business partner Recep Canliisik, from the Lead Station.
Following the success of their original venture, Duncan and Recep expanded the empire with a second location, situated on Stanley Square in Sale, which opened in October 2023.
But after just eighteen months, the owners have said the Trafford restaurant has now closed with immediate effect. The decision comes as the pair said they want to focus their efforts on the original location in Chorlton.