JUST when its was good news – a ‘full house’ for the Corn Exchange with Berlin-inspired kebab and currywurst restaurant Döner Haus announcing it would take over the long-empty Byron Burgers site in auutmn – the neighbouring Cabana has suddenly shut.
Now in administration, the Brazilian specialists were one of the pioneering arrivals in 2015 when the former Triangle shopping centre was repurposed as a casual dining destination, albeit populated by a slew of national chains.
Of these Cabana was always one of the less distinctive, based upon a menu of iconic Brasilian feijoada hot pot and churrascaria-style barbecue skewers – the likes of spicy malagueta chicken and chimichurri-marinated pork – alongside a caipirinha-led cocktail offering. It always seemed a struggle to fill the huge 260-cover space, facing out across Cathedral Gardens.
The whole Corn Exchange faces an uncertain future if plans go ahead for a 20,000 capacity entertainment venue near the Etihad. That would certainly threaten the existence of Manchester Arena and all surrounding food and drink operations whose trade partly depends upon it.
