One of the Northern Quarter’s best restaurants has left fans startled after an email sent on Thursday night suggested it could be its doors for good.
District, Ben Humphrey’s new-wave Thai BBQ restaurant and bar, wrote in a newsletter to subscribers that 1 October would ‘mark the end’.
The email, sent on the evening of 22 September 2022, included this message in all-caps:
“RECENT EVENTS HAVE TAKEN THEIR TOLL AND WE ARE FACING EXTREME ECONOMICAL PAIN.
“A FINAL COMING TOGETHER OF THE OFF-WORLD VIGILANTES TO OVERTHROW THE TYRANNICAL RULE IS THE ONLY ROUTE TO SURVIVAL.
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01/10/22 MARKS THE END”
The news left fans of the Michelin-recommended restaurant in a panic, with its booking system only taking reservations up to 1 October.
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Then on Friday afternoon, District uploaded a story to its Instagram page suggesting that it was not the end after all – and that something new would be coming in its place in November.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
A computerised voice read out the following message, which also appeared on the screen:
“Greetings citizens of the world, recent events have taken their toll and we are facing extreme economic pain.
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“We are now tasked with overthrowing the District regime. It is time for change.
“October 1 marks the end.
“November [inaudible] marks the beginning.”
Since it opened in 2020, District has staked its reputation on its inflexible tasting menu experiences that don’t allow for substitutes.
Deposits have always been required up front, and adaptions have famously never been made for a customer’s dislikes, or even religious needs
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In August last year, in a bid to draw in more diners, it announced it was flipping the script – giving customers the option to come in for a few plates and drinks of their choice, tapas style.
Now it appears that owners are having a rethink once again, with more information on what to come currently being kept under wraps .
Manchester’s hospitality scene has seen a record number of closure announcements this year as businesses struggle with rising energy bills, food costs, and record-high inflation.
A staggering number of businesses have closed down in recent months. This summer alone, popular restaurants Lattsam, The Globe in Chorlton, Frost Burgers, JJ’s Vish and Chips and Home Sweet Home have all closed up shop for good.
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Northern Quarter steak restaurant Herd NQ has also announced it is closing up shop for good this week.
The closures follow a government-announced blanket support package, unveiled this week to help businesses with their energy costs.
The package essentially introduces a six-month emergency price cap, meaning that electricity prices for business customers will still be about double what they were in October 2021, when the price per megawatt hour was £117, but more than half the forecast winter prices of about £540.
Whilst the fact that something has at last been done has been quietly welcomed by the hospitality sector, there are already concerns that the measures do not go far enough, particularly as the changes only apply to new contracts from 1 October, and to fixed contracts taken out since 1 April.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Georgina Pellant -
23rd September 2022 
