Under cover story
Business booming at traditional hub, say stallholders
When key-cutter Les Brannan posed defiantly beside the last stall standing in Northampton’s market in a Mirror story on March 14, he looked a sorry sight.
Refusing to quit after 42 years working at LJB Rutherfords, despite losing £800 a week, Les, 57, told us he hoped fortunes would change for Britain’s thousands of market traders.
But in some cities and towns across the country, covered markets are enjoying a stunning revival...
Kate Hardcastle, broadcaster and consumer insight specialist, says: “We’re witnessing a trend where people are increasingly drawn to shop in more unique, aesthetically pleasing locations, particularly those steeped in history like our covered markets.
“It’s this desire for an experience that’s not just transactional but is deeply enriching and personal that’s driving this shift.”
According to Kate, of retail consultancy Ignite with Passion, our digital saturation is making us crave a proper, old-fashioned day out, with shopping, conversation and food.
She adds: “As we find ourselves more immersed in the virtual world, there’s a natural gravitation towards the tangible, the authentic – essentially, a craving for real-life experiences
“At the heart of this shift are the independent retailers who make these shopping environments come to life.”
At Newcastle’s iconic Grainger Market, traders grin from ear to ear as they serve the passing crowds. There are 100 small businesses bustling under the Victorian glass-barrelled roof.
They include rare gems like the last historic M&S Penny Bazaar, selling discounted undies, and an oldfashioned weighing room, where the machines that once weighed goods now weigh people for 50p a pop.
Susan Carroll, 78, has been a regular all her life.
She says: “The market has got a variety and it’s all together, not spread out.
It’s got food, clothes and whatever you need.
“I have come to meet my dad for a coffee but then my daughter is going to come and we’ll have something to eat.”
About a decade ago, Grainger Market was falling into disrepair.
But now, the greengrocers, butchers and fish markets sit side by side with a whole host of trendy places to eat and stalls.
From Italian vermouth and dim sum bars to cupcake patisseries, vintage clobber and Chinese crafts, the traditional and trendy intertwine, in the vast market and arcade built in 1835.
Dave Hall, 33, opened Manhua Cha, selling Taiwanese bubble tea, in June last year. He says business is booming.
“I love the market, and it’s really up and coming,” he adds, as he dishes out brightly coloured cups full of tapioca balls. “I’ve seen it go up and down but it’s in a resurgence period now.”
This is only set to strengthen, as
We are a community that help and rely on each other NICK ROBINSON, PET STORE OWNER
work begins this summer to update the market hall with an injection of £8.2million from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.
Two new pavilions, one at each end of the arcade, will create impressive spaces for a variety of uses, and there will be new terrazzo flooring.
For Oliver & Eden butcher Jerry Eden, 54, who wears a blue striped apron over his white coat, this will be another chapter in his workplace’s constant evolution.
“I’ve been working here since I was 12,” he says. “It has changed loads, it’s all now
for foodies, whereas it used to just be market-type things.
“At one time there were 180 butchers, when I came there was 35 and now there are only two of us open. The money can do no harm.”
Traders Jenn Gray, 33, and Adam Gordon, 26, recently opened Tender Hooligan, a vintage store selling “British heritage clothing”, and are also excited for the extra boost.
“It looks like it’s really going to bring a younger crowd through, which is quite nice,” says Jenn.
Today, the wide age range of those meandering down the aisles is a testament to the adaptability of the nearly 200-year-old market.
Medical student Joe Jackson, 23, from Sheffield, comes to the Grainger because the groceries are cheaper and better. “I get all my fruit and veg from that little veg shop over there,” he says, gesturing with a box of grapes.
“And then there’s a butcher’s as well.
You can get way more than you can in any Tesco.”
Although people
Joe’s age might typically shop online, a lowcost market with everything in one place appeals to many students.
“It’s about convenience, really,” he says. “I come here and buy clothes as well. It’s more tactile shopping in person, it’s more human.”
But while customers can come and spend their cash, they can also spend time sitting at the tables, relaxing and chatting for free, making it a place to connect with others. Tian Tang, 34, moved to Newcastle from China five years ago and runs Tian’s Gifts, which sells Oriental art, craft and presents, and she explains that the market is all about community. “I feel like I have a family here,” she says. “The customers call in and say hello and we have a personal bond, which is fantastic. I have received so much help from my customers and from the local community.”
Tian is so close to some shoppers that her eyes well with tears when she begins a story about a 90-year-old, who had stopped visiting regularly. “A few days ago her daughter came in and said she has dementia now and has moved to a home,” she adds. “I won’t see her again.” Pet store owner Nick Robinson, 60, adds that the market has a neighbourly feel.
“We are a community that in small ways all help each other,” he says.
“The butcher shop along the road relies on me to bring customers past his door and I rely on him to bring customers past my door.”
Robinson’s Pets Store is the oldest pet shop in Britain, and it has been in his family for 95 years. “I started working in here when I was 10, when child labour was allowed,” Nick laughs.
“I was paid the princely sum of 10p an hour.
“The market has changed, as in the balance of businesses, but this market still is an integral part of the city.
“It relies on the people who support it so we do need customers. Nobody should be complacent with it.” Former Apprentice star and market trader Tom Skinner says: “I have been doing the market since I was 13 years old, and it is a way of life.
“I love working on the market, and I have met some of the best people in the world on market stalls.
“I love chatting to people, especially the older generation. They sometimes just come down to have a cup of tea.
“There has been a decline over 15 years but it’s true – they are making a comeback.
“I work at North Weald Market in Essex every Saturday and it’s busier than ever, it’s really thriving.
“We have lost 10 years of markets but they are coming back stronger because people realise it isn’t the be all and end all to buy online.”
It’s more tactile in person.. it’s more human JOE JACKSON ON WHY HE GOES TO THE MARKET