It’s no accident that Manchester is chock-a-block with beloved local brands. In a city where the civic pride is as loud and pronounced as you’ll find anywhere in Britain, ‘choosing local’ has always been the preferred option for residents.
Local corner shops. Local butchers. Local taxi firms. Manchester is inundated with familiar family firms which have stood the test of time because they understand what the community is all about – and what it needs.
For a model example – see Street Cars.
Anyone who’s ever spent five minutes in Manchester will have likely heard about the city’s leading cab company.
Not only does the firm have a huge presence right across the region, it’s also partnered with Manchester Airport, The Trafford Centre, Manchester United, Manchester City, railway stations, BBC, and a wide range of hospitality venues.
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Street Cars’ taxis are everywhere. 900 vehicles are out on the roads right now.
Originally launched back in 2002, the taxi firm is preparing to celebrate two decades in Manchester next year – a feat that’s all-the-more impressive considering the troublesome past 14 months.
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The pandemic piled intense pressure on homegrown businesses, but Street Cars survived – rapidly adapting their vehicles for COVID safety and becoming an essential service for local key workers when public transport was trimmed.
When Street Cars’ staff weren’t carting doctors and nurses to and from the Manchester Royal Infirmary, they were dropping food and drink parcels to keep frontline staff fuelled up, as well as providing packages for care homes and helping vulnerable people who couldn’t travel to the shops themselves.
The firm even chose to reflect on this challenging period with a published poem – a moving meditation on how Manchester had ground to a halt during lockdown.
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Street Cars has sought to support the city’s bravest people in numerous ways. But the company director believes there’s another reason why the firm has stood the test of time.
“It’s professionalism,” Naveed Arshad explains.
“All our drivers wear shirts and ties. We use clean, new, corporate cars.
“We have shields in our vehicles and they’re sprayed with antibacterial Electroclean (electrostatic sanitisation technology) to ensure people’s safety.
“We care about the customers.”
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The values of the firm have remained intact, but the travel industry itself has changed considerably since that first Street Cars trip nearly twenty years ago. Nowadays, passengers use mobile apps to book trips rather than call HQ – and Street Cars have dedicated time and resources to launching their very own car-booking tech system in order to adapt.
“We’re proud of it – it’s a really good app,” Naveed explains.
“You can pay by card, it provides driver details when you book, it gives you an ETA – all the info you need.”
Simplicity and ease are the two obvious reasons to book Street Cars cabs by mobile app. But perhaps the biggest incentive of all is the fact that customers can save 20% on prices all year round.
A tempting travel bargain now that the world is opening up.
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After a hugely successful two decades on the roads, Manchester’s popular family firm has modernised and mobilised ready for a new era. It could have another twenty years in the tank just yet.
As the narrator so aptly puts in the Street Cars poem: “Our public service never stops.”
Manchester
A literacy charity is making its way to Manchester bringing lots of FREE books
Thomas Melia
A charity dedicated to literacy is coming to Manchester in May providing families and individuals with plenty of free books.
Led by Bookbanks, this London-founded organisation was set up in line with food banks to provide people with access to free books and now they’re coming all the way to Manchester.
This charity started in 2022 all thanks to writer and journalist Emily Rhodes, who has read her fair share of books and wants to give this privilege to anyone who might not be able to get their hands on any.
The charity has seen widespread positive reception quickly expanding into Norfolk and is now partnering with various food banks in Manchester, marking the organisation’s first Northern venture.
Bookbanks gives out an average of 30 books per week, per site and has distributed over 5,000 books so far at food banks.
Crates being organised in Manchester food bank.Credit: Publicity Picture (via Supplied)
Titled Bookbanks after the fact that they work very closely with food banks to provide books far and wide to food banks across the UK, they also host a range of interactive events.
Alongside all the fantastic work the team do, there’s a handful of free workshops and author events on offer for all ages and backgrounds, to further build the connection between people and their books.
Currently, there are two famous figures backing this book-based charity, Elizabeth Day and Andrew O’Hagan, both of which are no stranger to a pen and paper.
Day is an award-winning author who has written nine fiction and non-fiction books to date, while O’Hagan is Booker Prize nominated and is London Review of Books’ Editor-at-Large.
Bookbanks relies on the general public to spread their message further and there’s even a section on their website detailing how you can get involved to continue distributing books within food banks.
One of Bookbank’s many free author events, some of which will hopefully take place in Manchester.Credit: Publicity Picture (via Supplied)
Whether you’re an avid runner or keen to try something new why not raise money for and be sponsored by Bookbanks, knowing you’ve done your bit to bring books to those who need them most.
If you don’t fancy lacing up those trainers and heading out for a run, why not donate any old books you’ve finished reading to this book-focused charity and allow others to discover a whole new world of reading.
Bookbanks first official Manchester site will launch on Friday 2 May at Manchester Central Food bank and a second site is already in talks at Greater Together Manchester’s Social Supermarket in Miles Platting.
To find out more ways to get involved as a company, publisher, member of public and more, you can find all information on their official site HERE.
Featured Image: Publicity Picture via Annabelle Williams
Manchester
The Manchester vintage shop selling designer brands for £25 has reopened in a new location
Thomas Melia
A much-loved and viral vintage shop selling all your favourite designer brands is finally returning to Manchester after a 16 month closure.
Already loved vintage shop Catch My Thrift is reopening in a new location in Manchester city centre and it’s providing people with high-end fashion at budget-friendly prices.
After a successful run of pop-up shop dates on Deansgate, now, Catch My Thrift now has a permanent location to help make the streets of Manchester even more stylish, one thrifted tee at a time.
There’s no catch here, besides the one you can find in their company name, as you can bag brands from Yves Saint Laurent to Ralph Lauren from as little as £25.
Located in Chatham Mill, this vintage clothes shop is suitable for shopaholics and bargain lovers alike as they’re providing the people of Manchester with trendy tees while keeping prices in the forefront of their mind.
An Yves Saint Laurent polo shirt from Catch My Thrift in Manchester.This vintage store has a variety of cool jackets, just like this one.Credit: The Manc Group
Just a five minute walk from iconic music venues Gorillaand O2 Ritz, Catch My Thrift also finds itself right in the heart of Manchester’s student accommodation.
Catch My Thrift is the brainchild of sustainable fashion brand owner Scott Joseph, known online as Sustainably Scott, and initially launched all the way back in 2023.
Now, this vintage clothes site is well-trusted as their Instagram account highlights notable names that have visited the including the England Rugby team as well as a whole host of influencers.
And very soon you’ll be able to walk round with coffee in hand as the attached space will act as a coffee shop venue working alongside the vintage clothes vendor titled, Canteen.
There’s an additional third unit just next door that owner Scott has plans for in the future, however all is being kept secret as of yet.
One thing we can guarantee is whatever this space becomes, it’s sure to be a hit.
Catch My Thrift, colloquially referred to as Catch, is open now and their attached coffee shop Canteen will be opening very soon, both located at Chatham Mill in Manchester.
A lovely outfit combination made by Catch My Thrift owner, Scott.It doesn’t get more vintage than a snazzy windbreaker.Credit: The Manc Group