District, the Thai-inspired barbecue restaurant celebrated by the Michelin Guide for its high-end menu, is to turn from a restaurant into a bar, scaling back its food offering to a snack menu. It cited ‘extreme economical pain’ as the reason for the change in direction.
The Oldham Street spot, which wore its sci-fi influences on its sleeve from the menu listings to the loud, synth-pop soundtrack bouncing around the tiled walls, let customers know about the imminent changes in an email sent out last night, in its own quirky manner.
“Recent events have taken their toll and we are facing extreme economical pain,” the email read. “A final coming together of the off-world vigilantes to overthrow the tyrannical rule is the only route to survival.”
The restaurant, run by chef Ben Humphreys, had not long revamped its menu, moving its focus from a full tasting experience to separate dishes. Humphreys will still be on board, curating the drinks, the bar's soundtrack and the scaled-back snack menu.
But it will be much-changed following its last service on October 1, after which it will close for a month and re-open in November. Owner Danny Collins told the Manchester Evening News: “There must only be a small handful of restaurants in Manchester breaking even right now. The price cap on electricity and gas is a start but it’s just not enough.
“The cost of ingredients has gone through the roof and there is only so much we can charge for a meal before people stop coming in. Especially when you already have a bit of a reputation for being expensive. Electricity renewal before the recently announced price cap was 10 times what it was. Cost of ingredients since opening have risen 4x.
“It’s just not feasible for restaurants to take on these price rises whilst they’re still paying off huge COVID-19 debts and people are understandably eating out less.”
He went on: “It’s a mixture of emotions. We are sad to see the back of a restaurant with such potential that would have flourished under different economic circumstances. On the flip side we are proud of what we have achieved so far and really excited to evolve the business.
“The team are understandably sad after the business being so well received, they are proud to work at District. All the current team have been with us from the beginning and have been absolutely outstanding. Some were already in the process of progressing their careers elsewhere, some will be staying with us and others will be moving on. They’ve all been so loyal and invested in District, we can’t thank them enough.”
Though it had only been trading little more than 18 months, it quickly received glowing reviews and a listing in the Michelin Guide, one of only 11 in the city. Michelin praised its ‘industrial styling, a banging playlist and projections of a Bangkok of the future set the scene for on-view barbecue cooking’, noting its ‘re-invented Thai dishes with a classic heart’.
Collins went on: “Since opening District, we have achieved so much more than we ever set out to achieve. From a glowing review in The Times to a nasty run in with Jay Rayner and being selected in the Michelin Guide all within the first six months. It’s been absolutely wild!
“This final week of District in its current form is going to be amazing with all of our regular guests who have made last minute reservations.”
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