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Beloved independent shopping hub Afflecks reopens today in time for Christmas

Over 50 local, independent businesses will be open for extra-special Christmas shopping.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 2nd December 2020
Afflecks

Manchester’s beloved independent shopping hub Afflecks has reopened its doors to the public today following temporary closure amid England’s second national lockdown.

And it’s just in time to start getting the gifts in ahead of the festive period.

The reopening of the historic shopping emporium in the heart of the Northern Quarter marks the beginning of an “Afflecks Christmas”, and the whole eclectic Afflecks family will be open for the ultimate independent Christmas shopping experience, with Mancunians invited to shop local and small this festive season. 

Over 50 local, independent businesses will be open for extra-special Christmas shopping.

All four floors of the building will be open seven days a week right up until Christmas Eve, and will be operating under all necessary COVID-19 safety guidelines. 

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has undoubtedly presented an incredibly challenging time for the dozens of small, creative enterprises in the building, and the second forced closure of the year has had a huge impact on their businesses.

This means the retailers are even more delighted to be able to welcome their customers into the building again, with the support of the owners of Afflecks, Bruntwood Works. 

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Afflecks

Speaking on the reopening today, Miki Christi – Manager of The Manchester Shop at Afflecks – said” We are so excited to be opening again, we actually cannot wait to see everyone’s lovely faces.

“It’s a weird Christmas and not the festive season we all know and love, but it’s more important than ever I think to give thoughtful, one-of-a-kind gifts and support local, independent businesses, so come and see us and let’s make this an Afflecks Christmas”

Andrea George – Director of Retail at Bruntwood Works – added: “We’re so pleased that our iconic Afflecks is able to reopen just in time for Christmas and a crucial trading period for the businesses. 

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“We are proud to support the whole family of independent enterprises at Afflecks this Christmas, and they’re very looking forward to welcoming customers back”.

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Afflecks Opening Times

  • Monday – Friday: 10.30am – 6pm
  • Saturday: 10am  – 6pm
  • Sunday: 11am – 5pm

Festive Hours

  • Christmas Eve: 10.30am – 4pm
  • Christmas Day & Boxing Day: Closed
  • 27th & 28th December: 11am – 5pm
  • 29th & 30th December: 10.30am – 6pm 
  • New Year’s Eve: 10.30am – 4pm 
  • New Year’s Day: Closed 
  • 2nd January: 10am – 6pm (usual trading hours onwards)

You can find more information on COVID-safety precautions ahead of your visit via the Afflecks website here.

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The Streets have just announced a massive outdoor gig in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones The Streets Castlefield Bowl Manchester gig tickets

UK hip-hop, garage and grime icons The Streets have become the latest act confirmed for the Sounds of the City musical festival 2026, announcing a huge outdoor gig in Manchester as part of their shows next summer.

One of the most influential bands in the space, having inspired countless others in adjacent genres over the past couple of decades, The Streets are up there with some of the biggest names to ever book Castlefield Bowl.

Having seen them live again for ourselves at Kendal Calling last year, you do not want to miss this one.

Revealing a brand new UK tour in line with a special album anniversary, which features just a handful of domestic live dates, we’re counting ourselves very lucky to be on the list.

Set to play the fan favourite amphitheatre for the second time, the 46-year-old frontman and legendary British producer is bringing vocalist Kevin Mark Trail, guitarist Rob Harvey, and a number of other regular session players along for the ride.

Other cities being treated to the experience include the likes of London, Bristol and our mates over in Leeds, too.

The tour itself is to mark 20 years since the release of their seminal second album, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, which remains arguably their most important work.

Skinner and his mates join the likes of The K’s in being the first to join the lineup for Sounds of the City 2026; safe to say it’s already off to a good start.

An incredibly well-received follow-up to their already impressive debut, Original Pirate Material, the much-loved 2004 LP is set to be played in full for the first time EVER.

This post now makes a lot more sense…

Speaking on the milestone, Skinner said: “A Grand Don’t Come For Free was a moment in time — for me, and for everyone who grew up with it. I wrote it as a story from beginning to end, even studying screenwriting to shape it and without the faintest idea how people would react.

“We’ve been looking for something bold to do with the live show, and we landed here: some tracks have never been played live, others haven’t surfaced in years.

“It’s a new challenge to bring the whole journey to life on stage, but I have an incredible band, and we always give everything every night. So I’m certain we’ll make finding out what happened to that thousand quid a party every night.”

You can see the full list of shows down below.

The Streets live UK tour dates 2026

  • Friday, June 26, 2026 – Dreamland – Margate
  • Saturday, June 27, 2026 – Bristol Sounds – Bristol
  • Saturday, July 11, 2026 – Castlefield Bowl – Manchester
  • Saturday, July 18, 2026 – Alexandra Palace Park – London
  • Thursday, July 23, 2026 – Ludlow Castle – Ludlow
  • Friday, July 24, 2026 – Kirkstall Abbey – Leeds
  • Friday, August 7, 2026 – Audley End Estate – Essex
  • Friday, August 21, 2026 – Rock n Roll Circus – Norwich

You can get ready to grab your tickets for The Streets live for Sounds of the City at Castlefield Bowl by signing up for exclusive artist pre-sale access, or you can just go for general admission when they go live next Friday, 17 October HERE.

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Featured Images — Ben Cannon/Press shots (supplied)

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In celebration of Momo Shop: a Chorlton favourite that has flourished since its rebrand

Danny Jones Danny Jones Momo Shop Chorlton dumpling restaurant reviiew

It’s not often we go out of our way to hammer home just how staggering we found a restaurant, but after now losing track of the number of times that a member of our team has eaten at Momo Shop in Chorlton and come back near speechless, it deserves more than a review.

We regularly hold ourselves back and resist the urge to talk in superlatives wherever possible, especially because we worry we might be falling into the recency bias trap, but in this instance, we’re going to go out on a limb and fall on our hospitality sword. Well, this particular writer is…

It’s official: Momo Shop Nepali Street Food – for our money, anyway – is up there with one of THE best restaurants in Manchester right now.

And there are plenty of reasons why, not least of all because of the years of practice they have feeding increasingly discerning Manc diners under a different moniker.

little yeti rebranded
Simple but charming – all the focus is on the food
momo shop mcr
And the food speaks for itself
momo place chorlton
Some of the most flavourful fillings you’ll find in Manchester
best dumpling spots manchester
Busy any given night of the week
No review (Credit: The Manc Eats/Momo Shop via Instagram)

If you don’t live in/frequent Chorlton, you’ll be forgiven for thinking that this gaff was a somewhat new addition to Chorlton, but in actual fact it’s been gradually growing a loyal and passionate following for more than seven years.

This is because before the miniamlist rebrand that saw the walls stripped back, the exterior painted blue and cutesy little bits of artwork hung amidst that familiar and atmospheric festoon lighting, Momo Shop was once The Little Yeti.

Its former iteration boasted hundreds of glowing reviews in its own right, which already plated up plenty of stunning Nepalese food, but since switching primarily towards serving a menu primarily made up of momos (Tibetan-style fried dumplings hand-folded into various shapes) they’ve well and truly shone.

Now approaching a full 12 months under the new name, the Nepali street food spot isn’t just one of a relatviely small handful considering how much great South Asian food there is across Greater Manchester, we’d wager it could be the very best representing that Alpine-Himalayan belt in our region.

Our latest visit was genuinely just as good as our first, second, third and so on – take your pick.

From the simply incredible deep fried pork dumplings and the deeply moorish butter sauce that goes with literally any momo filling, to the super traditional buffalo ones that are not only authentic but, come on, where else can you find such a unique meat in these parts? It’s some of the best food we’ve eaten.

And we don’t just mean of late; Momo Shop might genuinely among of the nicest scran we’ve had in ages and it’s no exagerration to say that the first taste we enjoyed from many of these flavours have formed some of the strongest culinary memories we’ve created in quite a while.

It’s also worth nothing that it isn’t just one main snack-sized dish. The chow mein, keema noodles and cheesy chops are showstoppers themselves, and we’ve already booked in again for a 30th birthday celebration purely so we can try those lambs ribs and their take on a shashlick.

Nevertheless, we love the idea of the numerous configurations and concotions by pairing different dumplings and owner Niti Karki gave us some pro-tips of the best duos and even let us in on the trade secret of her go-to combo when she’s hungover. Legend.

Once again, at the risk of sounding too hyperbolic, odd moments have felt like core foodie memories on a par with our favourite all-time meals.

Personally, I’m glad to report that this isn’t just a review: consider this a declaration that Momo Shop has quickly become my favourite restaurant not just in Chorlton but in all of central Manchester, something I haven’t had since the heartbreaking closure of Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun in 2023.

momo menu chorlton
Plenty of variety
dumpling drawings
Damn straight
Niti Karki Momo Shop
Niti = absolute icon
We’ll keep your condiment secret forever, Niti…

There might be an element of the almost HakkaPo-esque style drawings, the colour palette and the carefully curated pop-punk, old school emo and post-hardcore playlist that’s over half a decade in the making that makes particualrly partial to this place

But before we wrap up this glorified love letter parading as a ‘review’, we also want to give a special nod to the charming staff and Niti’s mum, specficially, who was too modest to even let us share her picture, but whose wealth of wisdom, influence and experience has clearly inspired Momo Shop’s success.

Don’t be shy, Sue – the only thing more stylish than the food was you, girl. Pop off.

Put simply, we’ll be going back here as regularly as possible until we try every different momo + sauce variation there is, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.

If you are in the mood for more dumpling excellence, by the way, you might want to check out the unassuming Northern Quarter gem that is Chef Diao.

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The modest and unassuming Chinese restaurant serving some of the best dim sum in town

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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