13 days ago
Red Light cocktail bar returns to the Northern Quarter on Tariff Street
LGBTQ+ cocktail bar Red Light is back in Manchester's Northern Quarter with a new Tariff Street home, favourite cocktails, a new snack menu and weekly live jazz.
Northern Quarter & Ancoats
Just north of Piccadilly, the Northern Quarter is Manchester's home of independent record shops, cafés, street art and tucked-away bars. Next door, Ancoats grew up around great cotton mills and has been called the world's first industrial suburb. Today its restored mills and canalside streets are among the city's favourite places to eat, and neighbouring New Islington adds a marina and modern homes beside the water. Follow the good news from these creative neighbourhoods, their independents and the people behind them, right here.
19 October 2026
Pollen Bakery in Ancoats named Independent Food Producer of the Year
Pollen Bakery, which began in a railway arch before settling beside New Islington Marina, was named Independent Food Producer of the Year at the 2026 Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards.
5 October 2026
Band on the Wall keeps Swan Street singing in the Northern Quarter
The not-for-profit Northern Quarter venue, run by the charity Inner City Music, pairs a busy gig calendar with community projects that celebrate the musicians who now call Manchester home.
5 October 2026
Afflecks remains the independent beating heart of the Northern Quarter
Since 1982, Afflecks has given small traders an affordable place to start out, and the former department store building helped spark the creative Northern Quarter that surrounds it today.
2 October 2026
Piccadilly Records still spinning on Oldham Street after decades in Manchester
Founded in 1978 and based at 53 Oldham Street since 1997, Piccadilly Records remains one of the most respected independent record shops in the country and a Northern Quarter institution.
2 October 2026
Fred Aldous, the Manchester family craft shop now in its fifth generation
Founded in 1886 to import cane for the baskets of Manchester's cotton mills, Fred Aldous is still run by the same family and has become a much-loved home for makers.
30 September 2026
Matt and Phred's marks more than 25 years of late-night jazz on Tib Street
Opened by Matt Nickson in 1999, the Northern Quarter jazz club has become a long-established partner of Manchester Jazz Festival and a nightly home for live music.
28 September 2026
Pop Boutique has dressed Manchester in vintage for four decades
Founded in 1983 and trading in Afflecks since 1985, Pop Boutique has grown into a vintage name known across the UK and Sweden, with its Oldham Street flagship open since 1994.
27 September 2026
Night and Day Café stays open on Oldham Street after long noise battle
Backed by a petition of more than 80,000 signatures, the much-loved Northern Quarter venue came through a lengthy court case and continues to host live music on Oldham Street.
26 September 2026
Nicky Oliver has shaped Northern Quarter hairdressing since 1990
Since opening on Oldham Street in 1990, Nicky Oliver's five-storey Northern Quarter salon has collected industry awards and trained thousands of new hairdressers through its own academy.
25 September 2026
Cow Vintage brings two floors of reworked style to the Northern Quarter
With two floors of unisex vintage clothing and its own reworked pieces made from salvaged garments, Cow Vintage has become a favourite stop for second-hand shoppers in the Northern Quarter.
22 September 2026
Drama Call opens its first flagship on Manchester's Tib Street
Streetwear label Drama Call has opened its first permanent flagship at 70 Tib Street, a Northern Quarter unit once home to The Sheep Store and the original Oi Polloi.
19 September 2026
Erst in Ancoats climbs the National Restaurant Awards top 100
The Murray Street natural wine bar and small plates restaurant placed 37th in the 2026 National Restaurant Awards, one of four Manchester names on the list.
16 September 2026
Hope Mill Theatre grows in Ancoats as it celebrates ten years
Ten years after two former waiters spotted an empty mill floor on Gumtree, Ancoats' award-winning Hope Mill Theatre is expanding and reviving its community hub.
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