With the closing date of Carlisle’s Debenham’s store revealed on May 12, many shop owners, residents and townspeople are wondering what will take its place and what it will mean for the future of Carlisle as a whole. The building has been a landmark to many Cumbrians over the years as a central and integral part of Carlisle’s retail identity. Debenhams has already announced 52 store closures up to Saturday, May 8, including the Workington store, which closed for the last time on Sunday. Carlisle City Councillor Paul Nedved, said about the issue: “The closure of Debenhams is not just a blow to our retail market, but 120 others up and down the country and we will be facing the same challenges as them and in the current Covid climate will make it that much tougher. However, I’m extremely confident that we will bounce back.”
A VACANT Carlisle city centre restaurant is due to get a new lease of life after lockdown. The former Pompeii Steakhouse, on Abbey Street, closed its doors for good last year after failing to recover from the lockdown restrictions. Its former owner cited a combination of fears over staff safety, problems with an insurance policy, ongoing rent demands and fewer paying customers, as a result of social distancing measures, as the reason that the business was no longer viable. Now however plans have been announced to rename the eatery Anatolia and turn it into a Turkish Restaurant and Meze bar.