New tenant for Manchester’s long-vacant Artisan unit 

A Brazilian-Japanese fusion restaurant is to open a 13,000 sq ft venue in Spinningfields four years after Artisan closed its doors. 

Sakku Samba is a new concept launched by restaurateur Zack Isaak and brings together two existing brands, Estábulo and Sakku. 

Estábulo serves Brazilian rodizio-style food and can be found in nine locations across the country, seven of which are in Yorkshire. Isaak opened the first Sakku in Leeds last year. 

The opening of Sakku Samba in Manchester is Isaak’s first foray into the North West. 

“I wanted to bring something different to Manchester,” he told Place North West. 

Sakku Samba will be split across two floors. The ground floor will house a cocktail bar, while the first floor will provide space for up to 300 diners.  

In addition, Isaak plans to create a VIP room, which could accommodate 80 people, as well as two private dining rooms that could fit 20 and 16 people respectively. 

Work to fit out the space is underway and Isaak plans to open Sakku Samba in June. 

The opportunity to launch a new concept in Spinningfields was too good an opportunity to miss, he told Place. 

“I love the space and where it is. It has phenomenal character,” he said. 

The former Artisan unit, located in Avenue North and owned by CBRE IM, has been vacant since the Living Ventures restaurant closed in 2018. 

Artisan opened in the unit in 2013 before parent company Living Ventures put the business into administration citing struggles balancing rising costs and high rents. 

At the same time, Living Ventures wound-up bar brand Manchester House, which also occupied space in the Avenue North. 

Sakku Samba’s arrival into the building comes at an exciting time for the restaurant scene in and around Spinningfields. 

High-end Asian concept Sexy Fish is due to open in the former Armani unit fronting Deansgate, while Giggling Squid is lined up to take over the vacant Carluccio’s space. 

Earlier this month, Chotto Matte, a Peruvian/Japanese concept, announced it would be opening a 20,000 sq ft restaurant at Relentless and KKR’s St Michael’s.