Michael Caines restaurant closes at the Abode Glasgow

Difficult trading conditions in Glasgow have been blamed for the closure of the award-winning Michael Caines restaurant in the city's Abode hotel.

Michael Caines, operational partner and director of Abode Hotels and Michael Caines Restaurants, told Caterersearch.com that, despite the blip in Glasgow, the restaurants bearing his name in the four other Abode hotels - in Exeter, Canterbury, Manchester and Chester - were performing well.

"Business is very steady with year-on-year growth in the other restaurants and none of them is under any threat," he said. "But this has been a tough year in Glasgow and we have taken the decision to close the restaurant there and review what we are going to do. All the staff in the restaurant have been either relocated within the hotel or to other Michael Caines restaurants across the group."

Since opening in 2006, Michael Caines at the 60-bedroom Abode Glasgow has won a string of accolades at the Scottish Hotel Awards, including Chef of the Year 2010 for Craig Dunn, who is now moving to the Michael Caines restaurant at the Abode Exeter as executive chef. Restaurant manager Alan Brady also won Restaurant Manager of the Year at the same awards ceremony.

The more informal MC Café Bar and Grill at the Abode Glasgow remains open.

Caines, who is also executive chef at Gidleigh Park in Devon and the Bath Priory hotel, Bath, said the company had lots of plans for the growth of Abode Hotels and was currently working on developing the property it bought three years ago in Salisbury to open as an Abode hotel.

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By Janet Harmer

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