AS THE stream of restaurateurs and operators beating a path to Manchester continues, it was inevitable that some would struggle to cope with the influx of new blood and new grub into the city.
We've had no help with rates at all...
This week sees the announced closure of no less than four city centre restaurants.
Struggling King Street fine-dining restaurant, Quill, is the latest to shut up shop, its combination of extravagant tasting menus, black velvet and ‘true exclusivity’ failing to strike a chord with punters following its flash VIP bash in October.
Rumours of its supposed sale have been doing the rounds for weeks.
A closure notice posted on the door of the King Street restaurant on Tuesday 14 June reads: 'We have always prided ourselves on doing things the right way and we are currently in the process of doing a full housekeep, closing all accounts and making sure all staff and suppliers are fully paid.'
Quill closure noticeConfidential has also received word of the closure of Khan BaBa on Castlefield’s Liverpool Road, a run-of-the-mill Indian restaurant which always seemed to struggle in the mighty shadow of the well-oiled Akbar’s machine next door.
Though we’re told the unit at no.73 has been taken on by new owners and will remain a restaurant, called Mace, serving a mix of ‘Indian and Continental’ foods with a bold sixties themed interior.
Khan BabaMeanwhile, Cross Street-based restaurants, Splendid Kitchen and Grinch, both announced their respective closures this weekend, with both sets of owners citing the delayed Second City Crossing (2CC) Metrolink as the cause.
Splendid owner Mike Edge wrote: ‘…a combination of many things, not least the metro link roadworks that have blighted Manchester since almost the day we opened as The Splendid Sausage Company, mean that from next week we can do this no longer.’
A statement released by Mud Crab industries, owners of the Grinch restaurant, a Manchester stalwart for over two decades, read: ‘The Tram works have won, an area destroyed, others have closed and so must we.’
Splendid Kitchen
The GrinchWorks on the 2CC – which will link Victoria Station with St Peter’s Square via Cross Street and Corporation Street - began in January 2014.
However, significant delays, including the exhumation of 277 bodies and a collapsed sewer on Cross Street, mean the project, which has caused major traffic disruption across the city centre, will not complete until well into next year.
Critics of the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) project have questioned how a diversion under a mile long can take almost three years to complete.
TfGM Director, Peter Cushing, told Confidential that although he was saddened to hear of the loss of the restaurants, TfGM had offered their support to businesses along the route, including signage, a 'dedicated stakeholder team' and help with business rates (the full TfGM statement can be seen below).
It is a claim strongly refuted by the Splendid Kitchen owner. “We’ve had no help with rates at all,” says Edge. “Often the first we heard of any changes to the trams came from the media.”
Metrolink 2CC works on Cross StreetTfGM Director, Peter Cushing's statement in full:
“It’s obviously saddening that two city centre businesses are closing. While there has been a period of disruption during the delivery of the vital Second City Crossing works (2CC), we have offered our support to businesses along the route throughout.
“We have a dedicated stakeholder team that has worked closely with businesses before a spade hit the ground, as well as routinely and consistently during the works.
“We have provided signage for site fencing when works have taken place in the immediate vicinity of the both venues, while the city council has been able to have discussions about business rates.
“Ultimately, the new line will be a vital addition to the transport network, allowing more frequent Metrolink services to run, which will provide more capacity and help bring even more people into the city centre to enjoy all the fantastic attractions on offer and is all part of a wider £1 billion investment package to transform Manchester city centre’s transport infrastructure so it is ‘future proof’ and ready to support economic growth.”
At 17:09 on Wednesday 15 June Confidential received this addition from Peter Cushing:
“Despite several significant challenges, including a collapsed sewer and discovery of almost 300 human remains on Cross Street - all of which had to be carefully and sensitively exhumed - we continue to make excellent progress on the Second City Crossing.
“The opening a bigger and better St Peter’s Square stop this August will signify another major milestone towards completion and while we are hoping to have all heavy civil engineering works completed by the end of the year, we will then need to complete other construction works, such as the installation of paving along the route, fit the overhead lines and undertake a period of significant and robust testing and commissioning and driver training.
“While we continue to work towards a completion date of summer 2017, we are making every effort to have trams up and running on the Second City Crossing as soon as possible.”
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