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Manja in Lakewood to close in February.
Manja (13373 Madison Ave., 216-221-5445), a Madison Village mainstay for just shy of 25 years, is closing. Owner John McNeill says that the Lakewood bar's last day will be Saturday, February 11.
The come-as-you-are corner bar has been a haven since original owner Chris Andrews opened it in 1998. Almost single-handedly, Andrews turned that stretch of Lakewood into a destination, opening spots like Chris' Warped Records, Chain Link Addiction and the too-cool-for-school Capsule restaurant.
McNeill managed Manja from 2004 until 2014, when he became the owner. He says that his landlord sold the building to his neighbor, the antiques and oddities shop Cleveland Curiosities, who plan to expand into the bar's space.
"During the pandemic we shut down for 54 weeks and I remodeled the whole place," explains McNeill. "The irony is, we had our greatest sales day ever last Saturday, 12 hours before I was told I would be out."
But McNeill has no hard feelings, he adds.
"I was planning to be out of the business by the time I'm 70," he says. "I'm about to turn 68, so I'm not upset. It was a great run."
The owners of Cleveland Curiosities provided the following statement to Scene: "The previous owner informed every tenant months ago that he was selling the buildings. There is also no lease to renew for Manja. It has been decided that after over 4 years we will be expanding Cleveland Curiosities next door. We have been talking to the previous building owner for years about purchasing and now is the time he decided to sell. It is a very unfortunate situation, but there was months notice given by the previous owner. Our intent is not malicious, just to grow our small business and support our family. "
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