When Nottingham restaurants and bars close, many are given a new lease of life by different owners and have a makeover reopen with a new identity. But there are a number of prominent buildings that stand empty.
Some have been vacant for a number of years. Others are more recent shutdowns, a result of limited trade during the pandemic followed by soaring costs.
Once bustling places, each with their own loyal following, represented good times with friends and family while tucking into food or having a laugh over drinks. Now the buildings are a sad reflection on the state of the economy.
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We take a look back at some of the restaurants, bars and cafes we've lost and see what's happened to them since they closed. Which do you miss the most?
Peachy Keens
The all-you-can eat buffet restaurant, in Upper Parliament Street, closed down for good in 2017 after originally posting a sign that it was set to undergo a refurbishment. Fans of the eatery - which served Japanese, Portuguese, Mexican, Thai, Chinese and Indian foods - were disappointed, though.
Instead of a revamp the premises stayed shut and over a year later the interior was stripped by construction workers - once again giving hope that a new operator might be moving in but nothing materialised.
The property remains an empty shell till this day. With Philpotts sandwich shop next door and former gym FitPod 25 also closed now, it makes it a bleak stretch at the top of Upper Parliament Street. One of the boarded up windows has a splash of colour though from the boat someone has painted on the chipboard.
Oaks
Behind the weathered wooden doors was once a 90-seater restaurant with an open grill and delicious smoky smells greeting diners as soon as they stepped inside. The eatery, which opened in 2015, now resembles the Marie Celeste with all the tables and chairs still in place and a row of stools lined up against the bar. Just the name of the restaurant has been taken down above the doors.
The meat-heavy menu focussed on sausages, burgers, steak and chicken - all cooked over an open flame at Bromley Place, off Maid Marian Way. Wood sustainably coppiced from Sherwood Forest was used in the the grill and the entire internal design used green methods where possible.
The restaurant suffered a fire in an extractor fan in 2017, and although it didn't damage the interior, the festive season delayed the replacement of specialist equipment so reopening was held-up for several months until early 2018. After the fire, charcoal instead of wood chips were used for cooking. Sadly business wasn't as sustainable as the interior and Oaks closed down for good a couple of years later.
Sian Corner Ma Ma Thai
In 2020 the restaurant replaced Tarn Thai, a well-established name that had served customers in the opulent purple and champagne coloured surroundings for over a decade. It wasn't good timing for the takeover.
The changes happened during thick of the pandemic which meant limited trading at the start. It kicked off with takeaways before being allowed to open with the rule of six and social distancing.
Despite a similar menu with Thai favourites such as spring rolls and massaman curry not everyone shared the love there'd once been for its predecessor. One customer said: "It felt very much like a chain of restaurants rather than the individual feel Tarn Thai offered. We were the first in so service was spot on. Food was excellent but what I will add is that I thought it was over-priced and if we weren't there for the early bird option I wouldn't have been as impressed with the value. Not as good as Tarn Thai so we probably won't return."
And although the food was "impressive" others complained about a long wait despite the restaurant not being busy. In less than two years the lease was forfeited in July 2022 with the landlord seizing back the property. It is now up to let.
The windows and a door panel are boarded up and there's graffiti on the one remaining panel of glass... plus the stench from a pile of vomit in the doorway.
PizzaStorm
Unlike some of the other interiors which have been ripped out, the former pizzeria remains a fully fitted restaurant with the kitchen and tables still intact. It's now three years since the chain restaurant closed its doors with very little explanation other than a sign on the door saying "closed for business. Unfortunately it's time to say goodbye. PizzaStorm is now closed but we would like to thank all of our customers for their loyalty and support".
The restaurant, in Milton Street, was initially called Inferno Pizza when it opened in 2015. Two years later after a £250,000 revamp it was given a new name, new decor and an updated menu where diners could create their own pizzas from over 50 different toppings.
Despite the prominent spot, opposite Victoria Centre, there's been no takers.
Chez Coor's
Black bin bags full of rubbish and a bottle of cleaning spray are the remnants of what was once the home of authentic Jamaican cuisine. The buffet restaurant opened in Lower Parliament Street in 2018 and marked an expansion from the first restaurant in Mansfield Road, with more space, a better atmosphere and a bigger variety of food.
As well as the ubiquitous jerk chicken and mutton curry, diners could get stuck into brown stew chicken, pepper steak, festival dumplings and boiled green banana. It's hard to pinpoint exactly when the restaurant closed for good as opening was ad hoc with some people complaining they'd turned up to find it shut.
Those who did manage to eat there were full of praise saying: "We received the full Caribbean experience. Food was delicious, would 100% recommend." Now the restaurant stands empty, still with its colourful orange, green and yellow frontage but with a shattered front door and stickers from a shop fitting company offering signs, shutters and canopies.
Cosmo
It was November 2022 that the all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant announced it was closing for good. With just a doorway sandwiched between shops leading to the first floor restaurant the closure isn't as obvious as some of the others to passers-by on the busy street.
That said, the signage and decor have been removed from external doorway in Milton Street. A window sticker announcing Cosmo the winner of the best restaurant chain in the Golden Chopsticks Awards 2019 is a sad reminder of better times.
The restaurant, which served more than 100 dishes from around the world, was forced to close after the group terminated the operation agreement with the outlet’s operator.
Crafty Crow
Apart from a 'To Let' board outside you might be forgiven for thinking the bar in Friar Lane, opposite Nottingham Castle, is still trading. All the furniture remains inside, there's still plants in beer cans on the tables and a bottle of hand sanitiser is placed by the entrance as a reminder of the pandemic that led to so many closures around the city.
The bar, which opened in 2014, was known for its real ale and craft keg and championed British artisan producers, brewers, vintners and distillers. It closed in January 2022, blaming "a challenging couple of years".
With an undercover doorway and cardboard covering the steps, it appears to have become a shelter for a rough sleeper. Someone's obviously tried to help - a Framework advice and support card was left on a step.
Glasshouse
Paraphernalia can still be seen on both floors of the former roof fop terrace style bar with floor to ceiling windows overlooking Trinity Square. The flying car and glitterballs have gone but there stands a piano on the upper floor while dismantled parasols and a few stems of the colourful flowers that used to decorate the bar lay abandoned down below, along with a mountain of mail that has been been shoved through the letter box.
The closure of the sprawling unit left a big gap in Nottingham's nightlife when it closed in June 2022. Before that it was gaming bar Monty's but started off life as the Curious Manor, combining cocktails and afternoon tea with eccentric decor.
In a parting shot they said: "We’ve enjoyed every minute we’ve shared with you all here at Glasshouse. We wish we could continue to share the food, the cocktails and the great moments we’ve had here with you. However, the lasting effects of the pandemic have caught up with us."
Studio 23 Cafe
The tiny cafe is dwarfed by the construction work nearby, creating a block of 74 student flats and a coffee shop on the corner of Heathcoat Street and High Cross Street in Hockley. Studio 23 specialised in Asian food, such as spicy Korean chicken, fried octopus, pho and Hong Kong style milk tea.
Reviews were mixed, ranging from "a little gem" to "over-rated". Some said the decor looked like it was a work in progress before it closed down around four years ago. Before it became Studio 23, The Tapastry, a Spanish tapas bar, operated there with the smallest of kitchens.
The interior now looks like a building site, with a pile of rubble, black bin bags and a toilet that's not plumbed in, while graffiti covers the windows and side wall.
Thea Caffea
After a change in ownership the hidden tea room, dubbed Nottingham's "best kept secret", was given a makeover ready for the grand reopening in July 2021. The result, particularly outside, was stunning with big purple parasols, flower garlands and rose bushes making the garden an attractive spot to sit
As well as serving brunch and afternoon tea the new owners launched cocktail evenings, which seemed to be going down well. But by early 2022 it suddenly closed. Customers who had made bookings complained that they turned up to find it closed.
The property, under the archway of Enfield Chambers, off Low Pavement, went back on the market soon afterwards but to date there's been no takers. The garden is a shadow of its former self with weeds growing through the grey slate, a broken flower planter and a couple of stray silk hydrangea stems. Inside a Christmas tree is still up, next to planks of wood.
Tuk Tuk
You might remember this as an Indian restaurant called Chutney (or if you go back further Chutney Jacks), on the corner of Maid Marian Way and Friar Lane. But by 2017 it had become Tuk Tuk Indian Street Food, tapping in to the trend at the time.
With the name change and new menu, came a new look but it didn't go the distance. The property has been up to let for quite some time. The interior has been cleared although the bar remains. Posters advertising Russell Brand's 33 tour remain in the window and outside is still a menu with a £10 'chef promo' every evening from 5pm.
Juni
It might look like work is underway at the former gin bar Juni, in Low Pavement, but don't get too excited as it's actually on the two upper floors which are being renovated ready for student accommodation.
As well as serving gin, the bar also boasted the city's first gin lab where fans could make their own bottle of flavoured spirit to take home. Its own brand gin was distilled in Serbia and on opening, in 2018, a Balkan-influenced menu was served - later changed to unlimited tapas.
The bar never reopened after the lockdown restrictions were lifted in 2020 and the attractive Grade II listed buildings, one of which dates back to 1876, have remained unoccupied ever since.
Amora Express
Sheets of newspaper put up in the window are now hanging off the vacant restaurant Amora Express, in Long Row, while posters advertising a circus are displayed on the door. Last October a forfeiture notice went up in the window as the premises were seized by the landlords.
The eatery has been closed for some months but when it was open it served Pakistani and Lebanese food, and had a huge vegan offering. According to one reviewer it served the best Lebanese shawarma in town, with another saying it was the best Lebanese restaurant in the UK.
Olivia's Townhouse
Inside is in good condition with touches of Olivia's - the butterfly motifs - still present but outside looks a sad sight with the bright turquoise canopies weather-beaten and grubby. The colourful picnic benches, some upended, are gathering leaves and litter beneath.
The bar with a 3am licence, in Chapel Bar, had been closed for a while before it was put up to let last November - another victim of the lengthy closures during the pandemic.
Olivia's Townhouse opened at the end of September in 2019 with the claim it represented "today’s social butterfly and style influencer who expects and demands the very best". The bar was known for its cocktails, bottomless brunches and music.
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