Who's opened, who's closed down
It's been a busy period for the ever-changing face of Manchester as we see more shifts across the leisure provision, thanks in part to our economic woes. Bars always come and go but that post-New Year period is always a difficult one to get through as the dark and the cold keep potential customers indoors at night.
The bad news first. The Green Room is to close at the end of May due to enforced cuts in arts funding. While much of the building is theatre, office and exhibition space, it is also a cafe bar and has sat alongside The Cornerhouse as a mixed-use venue for the arts crowd for many years. The Green Room's official statement added that, "we would like to have continued but are unable to do this without confirmed funding or alternative income going forward." This closure won't matter a jot to many people that only go out to dance, get drunk, pull or socialise but to those that have an interest in culture, this is a real blow. The second closure was back in February but it's so hard to care about this one that it passed us by without notice. Opus is, of course, in The Printworks which is a building we strictly avoid. Always a pity to see job losses but in terms of entertainment, culture, music or design, it brought nothing original and just aided in keeping the mainstream crowd where they belong and out of the Northern Quarter.
We'll skirt over some of the other losses as they aren't breaking news, but if you need a catch-up, the city also lost Brannigan's (which was inevitable given the demises of The Baby Grand, No.1 Club/One Central Street, Teasers, Squares and Chicago Rock Cafe), Spirit (too many venues on Canal Street, so somewhere had to lose out), Bar De Reve (a copy of Lamarrar's that had too small a bar and bar staff that worked too slowly) and Jackson's Warehouse (too underground and a secret hangout that never caught on).
So how about some good news? New openings and refurbishments are always an exciting feature of barland, and the former Ithaca on John Dalton Street has reopened as Vertigo restaurant and bar. Spread over several floors (that allegedly cost £4m) with fine dining and relaxation on the agenda. We imagine a £4m price tag includes buying the building itself. Only a billionaire would pour that amount of money into premises and just be on a lease, right?
A new branch of Slug & Lettuce has opened at Spinningfields, which has us thinking, "how many of these does one city need?" That's three in the city centre, just when we thought that duplicate chain bars were a thing of the past. Only Revolution seem to have succeeded with this tactic where others (Bar Med and Bar 38 for example) have failed. Although it's nothing when compared with the number of cloned coffee shops and supermarkets across the city. The L-shaped interior is dominated by dark browns and flooded with natural light during the day. It's all very modern and efficient looking but lacks any individual character, as you would imagine.
Here's one for the future. The Ritz is to temporarily close at the end of May to undergo a £2m refurbishment. Once complete, it'll reopen as a sponsored live and club event venue called HMV Ritz and the venue is open to offers by promoters, so look forward to some changes. In an official statement, the venue said that - "The HMV Ritz will re-open in September 2011 with a high-quality eclectic and vibrant programme of live music, club nights, and special events across all genres of entertainment." They've got a booking already in the form of rap heavyweights Public Enemy, who'll be performing tracks from 'Fear of a Black Planet' on September 7th.
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