Yesterday’s Government announcement has already impacted major businesses in Manchester.

Following the announcement just yesterday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the public has begun taking further social distancing measures – with the Government advising the public to avoid busy places such as pubs, restaurants, clubs and theatres. As a result, a large number of Manchester businesses have been affected already – with many closing the protect the health of both their employees and the general public. Here are the businesses affected so far.

HOME

Art centre, cinema and theatre HOME has been forced to make the decision to close in light of the recent Government advice. CEO Dave Moutrey confirmed just last night that they’d be closing to the public as of March 17, with “the health and safety of our staff, visitors, artists and volunteers” of “utmost importance”. There is currently no re-opening date for the centre, and refunds are set to be issued to current ticket holders. HOME’s theatre has a capacity of 499, with additional spaces throughout the complex.

Opera House Manchester

The Opera House was currently showing the acclaimed stage show Back To The Future, however, its owners, ATG, announced last night that the venue would be closing with immediate effect. Updates are expected to follow over the coming days for current ticket holders regarding ticket exchanges. The announcement was made across ATG’s website, stating that they want to protect “the health and safety of our communities, and we believe this is the correct decision to make”.

Palace Theatre Manchester

Also owned by ATG, The Palace Theatre was closed with immediate effect last night. All shows have been called off, and similarly to the Opera House, ticket holders will be contacted soon regarding ticket exchanges. There is no re-opening date as of yet for the venue. ATG has confirmed they will be “consulting with industry bodies including the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre and the government over the immediate future”. The closures are across the whole group, and also affect the businesses West End venues.

Manchester Arena

While not currently closed to the public, Manchester Arena has faced a number of event cancellations in recent days, with events such as Planet Earth II, Biffy Clyro and Blossoms postponed until further notice. The arena is currently liaising with their partners, and are expected to issue an update on upcoming events in the coming days. The arena has a whopping capacity of 21,000 and is the largest in the UK.

The Lowry

Salford Quays gallery and theatre, The Lowry, has made the decision to close “until at least Tuesday 31 March”. The theatre went ahead with last night’s performance of The Tina Turner Experience, however, will now be closed for the foreseeable future. The theatre has asked ticket holders to refrain from contacting them, as they will be in touch in due course regarding any events that have been postponed or cancelled.

Royal Exchange Theatre

Royal Exchange Theatre cancelled last night’s performance of Rockets and Blue Lights following the Government’s announcement around social distancing. The theatre is yet to provide updates on whether the theatre will remain open and if future performances will go ahead, however, they have confirmed they are continuing to follow the advice provided by the Government and Public Health England.

The Comedy Store

Popular Comedy club The Comedy Store has taken the decision to suspend all upcoming shows in light of the new social distancing advice. The club will be contacting ticket holders in the coming days, however, there is currently no re-opening date and no events have been rescheduled as of yet. The Comedy Store announced the news just last night, saying in a social media post “We will hopefully be back very soon to deliver the laughter that we all very well need”.

GRUB MCR

Manchester street food venue GRUB MCR confirmed last night that following the new Government advice, they’d be closing their doors until further notice. There’s currently no expected re-opening date, however, the event space has said in a social media post that they “look forward to flinging open the doors again this summer to welcome all your lovely faces again in happier times”.

Siop Shop

Northern Quarter cafe Siop Shop has decided to temporarily close its doors in a bid to “operate as long as we can with as little impact as possible”. The cafe will be operating a takeaway service as of March 17, with a delivery service launching later in the week for avid fans of the cafe to take advantage of.

Seven Brothers

Seven Brothers has announced that their Salford taproom will now be closed based on the Government’s advice and ongoing building work at the brewery. The two beerhouses will remain open, and the brewery will also be continuing deliveries for those who need a few tins in the fridge during the outbreak. There is currently no re-opening date for the taproom.

The Creameries

Chorlton restaurant The Creameries has closed following an announcement on their social media channels saying “A restaurant isn’t really a restaurant unless it’s full of people. The whole point of restaurants is to bring people together over a shared love of food, wine and good times. In these current, particularly bad times, we simply cannot risk continuing to share our space”. They will, however, be providing a collection and delivery service of their usual menu, including wines bread and cheeses. The restaurant will be providing customers with further details on how the new service will work over the coming days, however, they felt it was a necessary action to take to “do our bit to help slow the rate of infection”.

Manchester Art Gallery

While not currently closed to the public, Manchester Art Gallery has cancelled all public events and their schools programme to care for the health and wellbeing of their visitors and staff. The events and programmes will be cancelled as of March 17 until further notice, with the gallery remaining open as usual for the foreseeable. The gallery has said, however, that the situation may change daily.

Foodwell

Foodwell has made the decision to close its ‘dine-in’ service temporarily. The venue will be closed to the public Monday-Thursday, however, all menus will be available for takeaway or Delivery via Deliveroo. The restaurant plans to re-open this Friday for the weekend and is planning to continue with its Mother’s Day plans.

Sugo Pasta Kitchen

The popular Italian restaurant in both Ancoats and Altrincham has been forced to closed today and tomorrow as a result of the new Government guidelines. The restaurant will be taking the time to consider their “full response” to the problem and will not be open for food. Updates will follow in due course.

ODEON, Cineworld, Vue and Everyman

Leading cinemas are closing their doors across the UK, with ODEON confirming in a statement “Following government guidelines, Odeon cinemas are closed until further notice. We deeply value our cinema-loving customers and have no doubt we will be serving everyone again as soon as possible with a full slate of Hollywood blockbusters and the best of independent films and content”. Vue, Odeon, Cineworld and Everyman will all temporarily close to the public.

Albert Hall

Albert Hall has announced it will be closing for the “time being” to ensure the health and safety of the public following the Government’s announcement yesterday. All upcoming shows will be cancelled or postponed, and the venue has confirmed they will “return once the crisis has passed”.

Tattu

Tattu has confirmed their restaurants will be closing due to the virus, with no further details on when they will be re-opening. They have, however, let customers know that a delivery menu is on its way so fans can enjoy their food from home using Deliveroo.

Erst

Taking into consideration the health and safety of both their staff and customers, Erst has decided to close their restaurant in Ancoats “for the foreseeable future”. Making the announcement earlier today on their social media platforms, the restaurant has confirmed they will re-open when instructed that it is safe to do so, continuing in their post “Our priority now is safeguarding jobs and being able to open our doors again soon”.

Soup Kitchen

Describing the current information surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak as “unclear”, Soup Kitchen has closed their doors, calling it the “most difficult decision in our history”. The venue and restaurant announced the news earlier today on social media, and will be closed with immediate effect until further notice, safeguarding both staff and customers. The venue has confirmed they plan to re-open as soon as it is safe to do so, and that the business is currently seeking financial support to pay staff.

The National Football Museum

The National Football Museum has confirmed they will be closing until April 6, making the decision based on the Government’s advice. Their statement reads that they will be continuing to monitor the situation, saying “Our priority is for the health and wellbeing of our staff, volunteers, visitors and local communities”.

Science and Industry Museum

In a statement given last night, the Science and Industry Museum will temporarily close “to focus on today and on the health and welfare of our visitors and colleagues as the nation comes together to deal with the threat of coronavirus”. All five of the group’s museums will close following discussions with the Government, with no current re-opening date.

Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor closes its doors on March 18 following a statement posted on social media which reads “We feel like it’s the responsible thing for us to do, with no judgement whatsoever on how others are reacting”, continuing “It is clearly in the interest of public health to do so and nothing is more important than that, in particular, our responsibilities to the elderly and the vulnerable”. The restaurant group has been impacted further than temporary closure, however, with some staff members, unfortunately, let go due to the situation. The restaurants will not be offering delivery during this time.

Three Little Words

Three Little Words is now closed until further notice. The announcement was made on March 17 in a statement that reads “While the Government has not enforced the closure of bars and pubs yet, we believe that the decision to allow us to stay open is in contradiction with recent advice for the public to avoid social spaces”.

Mowgli Street Food

Mowgli Street Food has closed all restaurants saying “our focus at Mowgli is now on curbing the spread of COVID-19”. All restaurants across the country have been affected, including their Manchester site. There is currently no re-opening date for the restaurant, however, they confirmed in a statement they’d be trying to find a way to “honour our teams over the next months”.

Solita

Solita closes its doors following the recent acquisition by Shoot The Bull. STB confirmed in a statement that all of their restaurants will be closing across the group, saying “The welfare of our employees and all our customers are of paramount importance”, continuing “We very much intend to re-open our businesses once it is deemed safe to do so”.

Fazenda

Fazenda has closed temporarily as of March 19 for an unknown length of time, confirming in a statement to customers “Caring about the humans behind the roles has always been our premise, which is why the decisions we have had to make are possibly the hardest ones we’ll ever face”. The move hopes to protect staff from the outbreak and support them during this odd time.

Hatch

Hatch closed on March 18 until further notice after careful consideration following the Government’s latest Coronavirus advice. The business confirmed that the “safety of our customers, traders and all the staff here at Hatch is our primary concern”. The business also confirmed that their amazing independent traders would be continuing delivery services for customers to enjoy a piece of Hatch in their homes.

Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home made the decision to close on March 18, confirming they’d be gone for “a little while”. The restaurant has historically delivered on Deliveroo, however, their kitchens will be closed as they await further information from the Government.

Mackie Mayor

Briefly updating their followers on social media, Mackie Mayor has confirmed they will be closed “until all this is sorted out”. The popular NQ spot will be sharing more details too, however keep your eyes peeled on their socials for more updates, as well as their independent traders to see how you can support them.

Rudy’s

Rudy’s has confirmed it will be closing its doors across all UK restaurants temporarily, however, the business is still open to click and collect orders which can be placed via their Rudy’s app. additionally, the pizzeria is currently working with Deliveroo to launch a delivery service which will serve the Manchester area from both the Ancoats and Peter Street restaurants.

Bundobust

Bundobust will close all three of its restaurants, saying in a statement: “Seeing so many of our friends and peers take the same action over the past few days has made this decision seem like an inevitability, but that hasn’t made the decision any easier to make”. There is currently no re-opening date.

Grand Pacific and Australasia

Grand Pacific and Australasia have now closed, confirming on their social media channels “we have decided that the responsible thing to do is close our doors temporarily to help stop the spread of the disease. We do not intend to provide a delivery or collection service throughout this period”.

El Gato Negro and Canto

Tapas group El Gato Negro has closed both its El Gato Negro restaurants, and Portuguese restaurant Canto. The closure is a temporary measure, with a spokesperson confirming in a statement they felt it “absolutely necessary”. There is currently no re-opening date, and the restaurants will not be serving collection or delivery food during this time.

20 Stories Manchester

Confirming the news on social media, 20 Stories has closed until further notice, saying “It’s been a really tough decision but the safety of you, our team and wider community is of the utmost importance”.

This list will be updated live as further information comes in.