The sad news was announced last month that unfortunately, well-loved late night ramen spot Cocktail, Ramen, Beer & Bun would be closing its doors for good. The outpour from the community was audible and it’s fair to say we’ve lost what was a fantastic addition to Manchester's food scene with their closure. However, after an announcement this week it seems it’s not all doom and gloom as a phoenix is rising from CBRB’s ashes in the form of Kong’s Kitchen.
Former CBRB Bar Manager, Tom Potts, will be the man taking the reins when it comes to transforming the site and turning it into Kong’s Chicken Shop and it only feels right that the space on Oldham Street should stay in the family.
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Tom originally created the Kong’s concept back in 2021 when he was taking full advantage of his furlough period. He even started his venture in CBRB’s kitchen while it was closed during covid so it’s almost poetic that the chicken shop should to return to its roots for its first permanent restaurant.
Spending the last 2 years bouncing from pop up to pop up, Kong’s has developed a name for itself around Manchester and when you see their tender, crispy chicken and creative approach to serving it, it really is no surprise why.
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In a collaborative IG announcement, CBRB passed the torch with this following statement:
“Those of you that have been with us from the beginning, will remember our OG Tom.
Tom was with us from day dot, helping build CBRB (literally) + was a huge part of making our lil ramen gaff the place it was.
After flying the nest in 2021 to pursue his own food concept Kongs Kitchen, using the CBRB kitchen for their first pop up + coming back together a year later for our first ever collab.
We are now super happy to be able to say that the place we’ve called home, is going to be staying in the fam! You may of seen the news that Kongs will be opening their own venue in the NQ recently. CBRB is dead chuffed to announce they will be moving into our old home at 101-103 Oldham Street.It’s been a tough year but we are all super proud + happy that after all this, there is a silver lining to our story.”
Although no official opening dates have been announced yet, we’ll be keeping a close eye on their socials for more updates.