Kebab house to fill Lunya void
Great British Doner is set to occupy a unit in Barton Arcade in Manchester almost five years after the Catalan restaurant closed its doors to cut costs during the early days of the pandemic.
Fit-out work is underway and the windows of the 3,643 sq ft unit are now adorned with Great British Doner branding, obscuring the interior of the restaurant that has lain empty since 2020.
The signs bill GBD as “the ultimate doner experience”.
Lunya’s Manchester closure was one of the earliest and highest profile of 2020, when the pandemic saw the country locked down, plunging the hospitality industry into uncertainty.
Owner Peter Kinsella opted to shutter the Barton Arcade venue, which opened in 2015, in order to keep Lunya sites in Liverpool afloat. Speaking at the time, he described the decision as “like cutting a piece of your body off to keep yourself alive,” in an interview with Place North West.
Barton Arcade, owned by Singapore-based VT Manchester Barton PTE, has seen several tenants depart in recent years, leaving much of the listed retail complex vacant.
As well as Lunya, STA Travel, fashion brand Intro, and Classic Football Shirts have all departed in recent years.
WT Gunson and Graham & Sibbald are joint agents for Barton Arcade.
A statement from the agents said: “WT Gunson and Graham & Sibbald are delighted to welcome British Doner to Barton Arcade which is an exciting new concept and will be a great addition to the arcade complimenting existing tenants.
“There has been excellent levels of enquiry recently for the arcade and we have strong demand for other available space within the building. Barton Arcade is a stunning two star-listed building being one Manchester’s most iconic properties.”
Hynes Illingworth advised British Doner.
Andrew Hynes, director at Hynes Illingworth said: “Barton Arcade will be the first UK opening for British Doner with two additional locations also secured in Manchester city centre.
“The business has been established by experienced restaurateur, Mehmet Korkut, previous owner of Café Istanbul and UK franchise owner of heritage brand Sultanahmet Koftecisi.”
Barton arcade is dire
By Anonymous
What a downgrade.
By Anonymous
The ongoing saga of the Barton Arcade exemplifies the sad state of retail in and around Deansgate. The building has significant architectural interest but the tacky units that are housed in it show that the area and the whole of the city centre continues to decline as the opening of a Kebab Shop in all but name shows.
By Bewildered Mancunian
Yep, the city centre continues to suffer due to the depressing environment created by the Arndale Centre, the dire state of Deansgate and lack of a proactive strategy to deal with change in shopping habits resulting in the gutting of once proud institutions such as Kendals
By Anonymous
Well this is interesting. A British version of the German GDK chain? At least Germany is actually famous for their döner’s, being where the global version we know now was invented by Turkish immigrants. The UK though? What is a British Doner? I can’t even find a website for this company. Is it just GDK in disguise?
By EOD
Deansgate needs a rethink.
By PLF_Cloud_Cuckoo_Land
Horrid. Very low rent. That end of Deansgate has been ruined now.
By Schweizer
Pret, KFC, Subway, a kebab shop, wok shop, gyros. What a waste of a lovely building
By Annoying Mouse
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. What a downgrade, such wasted potential in this building.
By CityLiver
Low end tenants and poor maintenance are ruining this beautiful building.
By Anonymous