Trading Route, the beer hall and rotisserie on Goods Yard Street in Manchester's St John's district, has closed with immediate effect, blaming rising costs and what it called "stagnant footfall".

The closure was first reported by the Manchester Evening News on the evening of 12 October, after the venue announced it on Instagram.

In its statement, Trading Route said trading conditions had been "particularly challenging" over the past three months. It said it spent its first 12 months "amid ongoing construction" in an area still described as "up-and-coming", and that as the only independent business there it needed footfall to grow, but that growth "hasn't materialised" quickly enough.

The venue was set up by the teams behind Trof, Manchester Union Brewery and Monton's Wandering Palate, and opened in late 2024 as a European-style lagerhouse serving Manchester Union beers alongside rotisserie chicken. It sits near Aviva Studios in the St John's development.

The business thanked its customers and apologised to its staff, saying the impact of the closure on them was "especially hard". It also urged people to support a petition calling for VAT on hospitality to be cut to 10%.

Sources: Trading Route statement on Instagram (12 October 2026), as quoted by the Manchester Evening News, The Manc and Restaurant Online.

This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked by an editor against the sources above.