The former Knott Bar is set to become a new Italian restaurant. The old owners have closed their doors for good and now the building has been taken under new management.
It’s always been an iconic venue in Manchester, sat on the edge of Deansgate and Castlefield, but now The Knott Bar is no more – at least, not as we’ve known it up to now.
Rather, the two-story hospitality venue is due for some big changes this autumn as news reaches us that it’s been acquired by a new operator and is set to become Manchester’s latest destination Italian restaurant.
Dom’s Paccheri al Ragu and Alle Verdure pizza / Image: Ellen Eats Out
Chef restauranteur Dominic La Cola has been a solid presence in the city for years, running his much loved Dom’s Tavola Calda from the other end of Deansgate.
For decades now, he’s been lovingly dishing up authentic pizza, pasta, and Southern Italian mains from his authentic little kitchen – but now the restaurant is on the move and it has found a new home inside the former Knott Bar.
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With Dom’s existing home landmarked for demolition, Dom’s Tavola Calda has now been pushed out by its landlord – and its owner now plans to reopen his popular Italian eatery at the other end of Deansgate, close to Castlefield Bowl.
Inside the old Dom’s Tavola Calda restaurant, which has now closed and will be moving into the former Knott Bar unit / Image: Dom’s Manchester
Speaking to The Manc, he revealed that he’s currently refurbishing the bar and plans to open his restaurant there sometime in the autumn.
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It’s good news for fans of his authentic kitchen, which has long been an Italian staple on Deansgate for those in the know.
When The Knott Bar reopens as Doms Italia later this year, it will serve up all his kitchen’s popular favourites with weekly specials appearing on the board alongside beloved antipasti dishes like the house fritto misto, homemade meatballs and signature oven-baked ribs.
Dom’s Tavola Calda has been a fixture on Deansgate for decades. The speciality pizza ‘Dom’s’ uses spicy sausage made in house, red onion, porcini and mozzarella / Image: Feast Street
In the meantime, whilst renovations take place all of the staff at Dom’s have moved over to the restaurant’s sister site Vincenzo Trattoria which is located just of St Ann’s Square.
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Sharing the news with their followers on social media, an update from the restaurant said:
“Good evening to all our customers friends and family of Doms,It comes with great regret that we have to close our doors for last time on Monday the 9th August.
Chef restauranteur Dominic La Colla pictured with his general manager and chef / Image: Dom’s Tavola Calda
“It has been an eventful and memorable 8 years, and we would like to thank all of you that have been to see us here at Doms, whether it was just for a coffee or an evening out.
“For the foreseeable future, all our staff will be moving over to our sister restaurant Vincenzo Trattoria, st Anne’s street manchester.
“Fortunately, it’s not the end of Doms as we will be opening a new restaurant at 374 deansgate Manchester in the up and coming months called Doms Italia , as soon as we have finished the renovation we will inform you all, again
“Thank you and hope to see you all soon in the near future.”
At a time when so many hospitality operators are struggling, it’s great to hear that such an iconic Manchester restaurant has found itself a new home and a new lease of life.
For more updates on the return of Dom’s, head over to the restaurant’s Instagram page here.
News
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman to step down from Strictly Come Dancing
Danny Jones
Long-serving Strictly Come Dancing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have announced that they will be stepping down from the beloved reality TV competition after more than three decades between them.
The Strictly team will, of course, ‘keep dancing’, but this still feels like the end of an era.
While Claudia Winkleman only became a joint co-anchor back in 2010 in preparation for the legendary Sir Bruce Forsyth’s eventual retirement in 2014, Tess Daly has been one of the two lead presenters since the hit smash-hit UK show first started way back in 2004.
Boasting a cumulative and incredible 31 years as the respective lead faces on one of the nation’s favourite IPs, Daly and Winkleman released a joint video on their social media pages confirming the bittersweet news.
Writing in the caption on Instagram, the pair said: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together, and now feels like the right time.
“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series, and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.
“They’re the most brilliant team, and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last ‘keep dancing’, but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”
Although Winkleman, 53, began as the presenter of the spin-off programme ‘It Takes Two’, it now seems hard to imagine the main show without either of them.
Confirming that they will be departing the British telly favourite at the end of the current series, which is around a month into its 23rd series.
Daly, 56, went on to share a further statement addressing the decision to quit the Strictly lineup after such a lengthy stay on BBC One.
It goes without saying that, much like when ‘Brucey’ left 11 years ago now, the show just won’t be the same without them.
For now, all we can say is thanks for all the memories, and we’d better see them back in the ballroom or popping up for special cameos in Blackpool again one day soon.
What do you make of the announcement, Strictly fans – and who do you think should replace them?
Featured Images — BBC Media Centre/Screenshot (via BBC)
News
Morrisons set to close more than 100 brand locations across the country
Danny Jones
UK supermarket company Morrisons is set to close more than 100 specific locations across the UK, including multiple here in Greater Manchester.
Despite still being considered one of the giants of the sector here in Britain, Morrisons is continuing its previously announced ‘restructuring’ by adding a number of other shops to the chopping block.
The chain had already announced that a slate of 50 Morrisons Cafes would be closing earlier this year, but now other brand branches are expected to follow suit.
While their major supermarkets will remain virtually untouched, several Morrisons Daily convenience stores, florists, pharmacies and Market Kitchens, like the busy lunchtime spot on Piccadilly Gardens – but don’t panic: the corner store itself is staying as far as we’re aware.
Fortunately, major mainline Morrisons supermarket locations look to be safe from closing. (Credit: JThomas/Jaggery via Geograph)
Despite insisting the business is in good shape and has a “bright future” ahead, Morrisons‘ chief executive, Rami Baitieh, confirmed that “a minority [of sites] have specific local challenges and in those locations, regrettably, closure and re-allocation of the space is the only sensible option.”
It’s also believed that 35 butchers’ counters and the same number of fishmongers are set to wrap up as part of the shake-up.
You can see the full list of Morrisons Cafes closing down below; thankfully, we Mancs have managed to avoid closures in this particular department.
Morrisons Cafe Locations closing
Bradford Thornbury
Paisley Falside Road
London Queensbury
Portsmouth
Great Park
Banchory North, Deeside Road
Failsworth, Poplar Street
Blackburn, Railway Road
Leeds, Swinnow Road
London, Wood Green
Kirkham, Poulton Street
Lutterworth, Bitteswell Road
Stirchley
Leeds, Horsforth
London, Erith
Crowborough
Bellshill, John Street
Dumbarton, Glasgow Road
East Kilbride, Lindsayfield
East Kilbride, Stewartfield
Glasgow, Newlands
Largs, Irvine Road
Troon, Academy Street
Wishaw, Kirk Road
Newcastle, UT Cowgate
Northampton, Kettering Road
Bromsgrove, Buntsford Industrial Park
Solihull, Warwick Road
Brecon, Free Street
Caernarfon, North Road
Hadleigh
London, Harrow, Hatch End
High Wycombe, Temple End
Leighton Buzzard, Lake Street
London, Stratford
Sidcup, Westwood Lane
Welwyn, Garden City, Black Fan Road
Warminster, Weymouth Street
Oxted, Station Yard
Reigate, Bell Street
Borehamwood
Weybridge, Monument Hill
Bathgate
Erskine, Bridgewater Shopping Centre
Gorleston, Blackwell Road
Connah’s Quay
Mansfield, Woodhouse
Elland
Gloucester, Metz Way
Watford, Ascot Road
Littlehampton, Wick
Helensburgh
Sadly, it seems that plenty of people saw this coming, with early reports of the off-license/corner shop-esque Daily shops following soon after cafes were confirmed to be closing back in March.
Morrisons closing 52 cafes, 17 convenience stores, and potentially 365 people redundant
Just before new NI tax laws kick in from next month
Retail is 10% of total UK employment, a notoriously low margin business
This is where Greater Manchester comes in, as a handful of florists and Market Kitchens in the region are to join the wider collection of closures by the end of the year.
Georgina Pellant -
26th August 2021 
