Eats
The restaurant and bar closures that shocked Manchester in 2024
Some big names gone this year...
Danny Jones -
5th January 2025 
A sad reality of the world of hospitality is that while we often have loads of fabulous new openings to celebrate, there is also a steady stream of restaurant and bar closures in Manchester.
It’s been another year of blistering food and drink highs and devastating lows, saying goodbye to several very high-profile businesses as 2024 ticked along.
Closures included enormous celeb-studded venues, much-loved independent restaurants and bakeries, the likes of the long-standing Church Street Markets and some of the finest dining establishments in all of Greater Manchester.
We haven’t included them all on this list (a notable absence is Sakkusamba, which shut down to rebrand as Raft, then Raft shut back down to rebrand as Sakkusamba again – you can read all about that weird situation HERE), because that would just be a little depressing.
But below you’ll find a list of the restaurant and bar closures that shocked Manchester city centre and beyond in 2024.
13 Greater Manchester restaurants and bars that closed in 2024
Greens – Didsbury and Sale
2024 was only two days old when celebrity chef Simon Rimmer announced the closure of his vegetarian restaurant, Greens, in Didsbury.
It had been part of the suburb’s restaurant scene for more than 30 years but was ultimately felled by rising costs, including a rent increase of a whopping 35%.
Rimmer kept the sister site over in Sale up and running, but not for long – that also closed in September.
His restaurant portfolio includes Rudy’s and Albert’s Schloss, but the loss of Greens was a real blow to Greater Manchester.
Cottonopolis, then Lamb of Tartary – Northern Quarter
More restaurant closure news smacked Manchester in the first week of 2024 when Northern Quarter stalwart Cottonopolis announced it was shutting for good.
The site reopened under the same team as Lamb of Tartary, a beautiful pub and restaurant inspired by the success of its sister site, the very successful Edinburgh Castle over in Ancoats.
Sadly, Lamb of Tartary wasn’t long for this world either, and that quietly shut down in September after only six months.
Who will try and take on this landmark unit next, we wonder?
Trove – Ancoats and Levenshulme
One of Manchester’s original independent bakeries shut down in the summer of 2024 after a turbulent few months.
Trove had started life in Levenshulme where it was quickly hailed as one of the region’s best neighbourhood food spots, then it branched out to Ancoats with a cafe too.
But both shut down in dramatic fashion in June, with the modern Ancoats site repossessed by landlords.
They finally broke their silence on the closures a few days later with an emotional statement that said: “We have been struggling mentally, physically and financially for a while.”
You can read their full statement HERE.
Liquor and Burn – Northern Quarter
🔥 Breaking 🔥 One of the Northern Quarter's most long-standing restaurants has announced its shock closure and we are GUTTED. 😭 https://t.co/WM0LR7F0qk
— The Manc (@TheMancUK) August 20, 2024
Formerly known as Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn, the popular Northern Quarter bar and restaurant is sadly just the former in general now after closing back in August 2024.
The Mexican food spot and late-night watering hole was known not only for delicious and pretty affordable scran with Californian influences but also for one of the best happy hours in town.
It may have started out as a spin-off courtesy of, Almost Famous, but it truly grew to take on a life, reputation and style of its own for just over a decade.
Sadly, it wasn’t to last forever and while they didn’t provide much detail as to what caused the closure, we can assume they were facing the same challenges most local businesses have been in recent years. They bowed with one final happy, messy and very emotional hour – thanks for the memories.
Almost Famous – Withington
Speaking of Almost Famous, the dirty burger masters still have a wonderful empire here in Greater Manchester and, indeed across the North but one spot did sadly have to admit defeat.
Their Withington outpost started off so good and looked to be not only one of their most handy locations for students and those on the outskirts of the city, but the room itself had undoubtedly the unique aesthetic they’d stumbled across to date.
As pretty as the room and as reliable as the food always is, opening during a cost-of-living crisis was never going to be easy and they came out to thank their loyal customers on multiple occasions for helping to keep going.
Sadly, they couldn’t feasibly keep going and though AF remains 0161’s most iconic burger joint, the Withy experiment didn’t work out – fingers crossed they get another go at it again in the future.
Rigatoni’s (formerly SUD and Sugo before that) – Ancoats, Sale and city centre
Another closure saga was the unfortunate story of Rigatoni’s, once considered one of the best Italian restaurants in all of the boroughs during its days as Sugo Pasta Kitchen before having to change its name to SUD following a rather confusing lawsuit threat.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the pasta specialists then suffered four closures across Greater Manchester and ended up undergoing another rebrand to relaunch as Rigatoni’s in December of 2023.
However, it seems whatever name they went by, they just couldn’t make it work and sadly Rigatoni’s went on to shut its restaurants in Ancoats, Sale AND in Exhibition food hall, leaving only Altrincham behind.
You can backtrack through the full sequence of events HERE and see what it’s now become down below:
Pie and Ale – Northern Quarter
Another one that hit us hard over the past 12 months was the news of Manchester city centre’s beloved Pie and Ale closing its doors after a little over a decade.
The NQ cult favourite was known for its legendary pie and pint for a tenner deal, years of unique takes on pastry-encased flavour combinations, a great booze selection across the board and being of the best-kept secrets when it came to finding a quieter pub to watch live sport.
It was quite comfortable one of the best places to grab a pie in Manchester and a relatively cheap day/night out in general and its closure back in April was a tough one for lots of locals to take.
You can find out more info down below:
Stretford Food Hall – Chester Rd
Heading over towards Trafford direction, the Food Hall that was attached to Stretford Mall was another frustrating closure at the start of last year, especially given the somewhat recent refurb a few years prior.
On the outside, things may have looked like they were on the up to many but, truth be told, the space had been struggling ever since the pandemic. Businessman Mital Morar opened the Food Hall back in 2019 but by February 2024, he confessed it had “no more left in the tank”.
At the heart of the regenerated Stretford Strip that looked to be thriving at the start of 2020, it housed plenty of popular local vendors including What’s Your Beef?, Egg & Co., Cloudwater Brewery and more.
But all is not lost: nearby New York-style pizza, breakfast and butty spot Bakehouse 32 has relocated to the premises and Stretford Canteen is still going strong.
PLY – Northern Quarter
From one that had the potential to build a local renaissance around to a city centre institution that students are still mourning to this day, PLY closing marked what felt like the end of an era.
Once the toast of Lever Street just off the corner of Stevenson Square, PLY could always guarantee you three things: cheap and tasty pizza, reasonably priced drinks and a good time.
We might have been enjoying a ‘Brat summer’ for the most part but we had a tear in our eye as they bid us the busy Manchester neighbourhood goodbye back in June and even gave special thanks to the legend that is Brian in their farewell message.
That being said, it didn’t take long for it to reopen as something new and fairly different – you can read all about it below – and you can still enjoy the fantastic flavours from their stand in New Century Hall.
Manchester, pay attention: The Salmon of Knowledge has some wisdom to bestow upon you — mainly how to pour a proper Guinness and have a grand auld time. 🇮🇪☘️
— The Manc (@TheMancUK) September 21, 2024
NQ's newest opening is an instant hit as far as we're concerned. 😍#manchesterirish #Guinness #northernquarter pic.twitter.com/BFdbiw2I1E
Sonata – Central
Another hidden gem that quietly closed its doors last year was the late-night piano and cabaret hideaway known as Sonata.
It may never have been the most bustling bar or well-known live entertainment venue in Manchester, but for the die-hards that made it home on so many weekends and what would otherwise have been boring an evening after work, it was a real wound to see it close its doors after a couple of years.
With an entrance off St Ann’s Alley that was marked with a glowing sign and a lightbulb, it felt like a real local secret, and despite building up a loyal following through its New York-style live music nights, Sonata shut down citing ‘near-impossible challenges in the current climate’. See more HERE.
WOOD – First/Jack Rosenthal Street
Celebrity chef and former MasterChef champion Simon Wood shocked Manchester when he announced the closure of his flagship restaurant, WOOD.
Wood has remained one of Greater Manchester’s most-renowned chefs for the past decade, not to mention a huge advocate for supporting the hospitality industry, especially post-Covid and during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Sharing an emotional post on Instagram, he wrote: “Sadly with COVID rent arrears now being demanded by our landlord and an increasingly difficult marketplace, energy increases, ingredient costs and soon-to-be spiralling business rates we just cannot make this work.”
Look back on that one HERE.
The Thirsty Korean – Chorlton
Local gem and one of Greater Manchester’s very best food spots, The Thirsty Korean, closed its Chorlton restaurant after five years when its lease came to an end.
It had hit headlines only months before its closure when Sacha Lord chose to publicly celebrate a series of local business, paying everyone’s bill there for one night only (with suitably long queues…)
Confirming the closure of the Manchester Road spot via Instagram, owner Eunji Noh wrote: “I love you, loved you lots and will love you. Hope to see you soon and let’s celebrate our beautiful and cheerful end of The Thirsty Korean!
“Please stay with us and don’t forget about us. Find me and I will be here with big arms opened to hug you all.”
Black Dog Ballroom – Northern Quarter
Long-standing Northern Quarter bar Black Dog Ballroom sadly and quietly closed for business back in January 2024, after a decade and a half as one of Manchester’s favourite nightlife hotspots.
The rumblings of the Black Dog’s closure slipped somewhat under the radar but were all but confirmed when the city centre bar and pool hall’s website updated to simply read: ‘Black Dog Ballroom is now closed’.
The site has now become Definitely Maybe, an Oasis-themed bar that even has drinks inspired by the Gallagher brothers.
Read more:
- January 2025 deals, discounts and offers at Manchester restaurants and bars
- A dozen major new openings coming to Greater Manchester and beyond in 2025
- Five of the best alcohol-free bars in Manchester you can enjoy this Dry January
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — The Manc Group
