Although the start of summer has seen a fair few new openings in Manchester, unfortunately another closure has been announced. With the current climate making the dream “a tough one to sustain”, the New York meets Paris diner in Manchester, Medlock Canteen, is sadly closing its doors after 18 months in business.
Opening at Manchester’s Deansgate Square in early 2024, Medlock Canteen (named after the neighbouring river) was an informal, laid-back space from the team behind Madre and Liverpool’s Belzan. Influenced by American diners and Parisian bistros with a menu centred around dishes ‘you know and love to eat’, Medlock Canteen offered comfort food including their much-loved, deep-fried rhubarb and custard pie and rotisserie chicken, available to also take home. Other notable dishes on the menu included their turkey schnitzel with duck egg, capers and salsa verde and their 50/50 brown butter mash potato consisting of half potato, half butter.
Announcing the news on social media that the restaurant is closing, owners of Medlock Canteen, Chris Edwards, Owain Williams and Sam Grainger, said: “With heavy hearts, we’re announcing the closure of Medlock Canteen.
“When we opened our doors 18 months ago, our dream was simple: to build a neighbourhood spot where everyone felt welcome, serving proper good food you know, love and can’t wait to eat. But the current climate has made that dream a tough one to sustain. Rising costs, increased taxes, and tighter spending have created challenges we’ve fought hard to overcome but, sadly, they’re ones we just cannot compete with.
“We’re proud to say our amazing team has been looked after, with payroll up to date and everyone offered roles elsewhere in our family of venues. If you’ve got opportunities going, drop us a message we’d love to pass them on to anyone ready for their next chapter.
For those who had bookings at Medlock Canteen, the owners said they will be in contact and “as an apology, and to ensure you’re not left without somewhere to dine, we would like to offer you a booking on the same date at one of our other venues”.
The Medlock Canteen team ended their statement by saying, “To everyone who dined, left us a rave review, shared a laugh or came back for seconds: thank you. You made this little place feel truly special. And yes, we promise, one day, somehow we’ll get that rhubarb pie back to you!”