IN a booming city where its easy to lose count of all the new food and drink openings, it’s worth paying our respects to those who have closed their doors. Two notable recent bar casualties have been Kro Piccadilly and Whim Wham – the first apparently because of steepling rent demands from a new landlord, the second after learning it would be the subject of an eviction notice as part Network Rail’s Northern Hub development plans.
Kro is now down to two bars, the original on Oxford Road opposite Manchester University Students Union, the perfect pre-gig meeting spot, the second in Heaton Moor. The one further up Oxford Road went under when the BBC upped sticks.
Taste of Manchester had a soft sport for Whim Wham, only open since 2012, with its quirky menus and burlesque and vintage tendencies, styling itself as “An Epicurean Eatery and Gin Salon”. Its position underneath the Whitworth Street West arches means its in the way of plans for Oxford Road station that include widening the railway over it, creating a new covered pedestrian walkway along the street and building a new footbridge to improve access to the platforms. We hope Gorilla further along will be safe.
