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US restaurant closures could accelerate as winter sets in

26th November 202026th November 2020 BisNow

Unless another round of federal aid to small businesses is approved soon, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order to shut down indoor dining statewide starting Nov. 4 could wipe out thousands of Illinois restaurants, industry officials say. The original ban on indoor dining was lifted in stages over the summer, but a late autumn wave of coronavirus infections led Pritzker to reimpose a shutdown, and restaurants now face a long winter with few customers or prospects. “We’re not really making it,” Italian Village proprietor Gina Capitanini said. “Every day is a loss and every month…

Empty department store. Photo by Malcolm Neal on Geograph

Restaurateur creates new venture to take over dead department stores

20th November 202020th November 2020 BisNow

The founder of one of the world’s largest chains of Mexican restaurants has set up a new venture to take over defunct UK department stores and repurpose them as thriving mixed-use spaces styled as a public version of Soho House. Tortilla founder Brandon Stephens is leading the new venture and is in advanced discussions with landlords about signing leases on its first sites. Provisionally called Anthem, the new concept will include elements such as workspace, meeting rooms, food halls, bars and cafés, competitive socialising space, and fitness and wellbeing facilities.…

Trafford Centre entrance. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Getting ‘intu’ John Whittaker’s mind: “like a holiday in crazyland”

16th July 202016th July 2020 BisNow

This is a difficult moment for Intu’s chief shareholder, John Whittaker. Whittaker, who built the Trafford Centre, now faces some unenviable choices as the main Intu corporate vehicle confronts administration. Whittaker has seen shares in the company once worth hundreds of millions of pounds go to zero. Bisnow reflects on what options he has, and what he might be thinking. How Very Dare They The Trafford Centre, now valued at around £1.5B, was a very personal project for Whittaker, as a 2012 interview with Property Week revealed. The centre is…