'There's no characters left': A piece of real Manchester just vanished

Mark McCall has worked at Church Street Markets for almost 50 years - but this weekend will be its last
-Credit: (Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)


There’s a real sense of sadness that fills the air as you walk through the last remaining stalls of Church Street Market in the city centre. Once alive with fresh vegetables, exotic fruits, books, hats, and grilled cheese sandwiches, it’s now filled with removal vans, bare floors, and signs giving away empty tubs and jars.

The market, on the outskirts of the Northern Quarter, has been a part of the city for more than 50 years now. But at the end of today (September 14), it will close the shutters for good as "2developers inch closer on the progression of a new 22-storey build that will stand in its place.

Whilst other traders have come and gone over the years, it’s been a consistent home to Manchester Bookbuyers, run by Edward Hopkinson for the last 54 years, and the McCall family - who run both an Afro-Caribbean grocers and an organic store - for almost the same amount of time.

READ MORE: I ate only organic food for a week - hidden benefit and 'terrifying' discovery

“It’s the end of an era,” one customer says as she passes into the grocers on Wednesday afternoon (September 11) to wish owner Mark McCall a fond farewell. “It won’t be the same,” she reminisces. “It’s just not our city anymore.”

Mark, whose family has run the McCall’s business for some 127 years, has accepted things are what they are. Their eviction has been looming since plans for a new development on the site were first filed back in 2018. Having passed through different developers and contractors over the years, the plans are now full steam ahead and the traders have been told to up sticks.

The market has often been one of the only places to buy exotic fruits, vegetables and ingredients in the city
In more recent years McCall's specialised in Afro-Caribbean and Asian foods -Credit:Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News

Mark says it is the end of the business and he won’t be relocating. There have been some health issues for himself and members of the family, and he says the move has forced his hand to make himself a priority after running the business for nearly 50 years.

“It’s the right time for us to go,” Mark tells the Manchester Evening News. “A lot of my children and their children don’t want to take it on. And I don’t blame them, it’s too hard of a job - it's 16 hour shifts every day of the week. They want proper jobs.”

Mark says he has accepted that it's 'time to go'
Mark says he has accepted that it's 'time to go' -Credit:Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News

“Where are you’s going?,” one person interjects as she pops into the shop to get some weekly staples. “We’re not going anywhere else, I’m afraid," Mark tells her. "This week will be the last." As she buys her goods, she says she is 'truly sorry' to see them go.

“We’ve had customers crying,” he continues. “We’ve had a lot of messages like that. I’ve been on this road for 46 years. Some people have been coming to me since I’ve been on the other side of the road, I used to be on the old barras (barrows) - where there were 22 fruit and veg stalls in a line, that’s where we used to all be.

The fruit and veg sellers on Church Street, pictured in 1985
The fruit and veg sellers on Church Street, pictured in 1985 -Credit:Manchester Libraries

“Before that, we were on Back Piccadilly where Sacha’s hotel is now. My granddad worked there for his mother and father just after the First World War.”

Speaking of how the city has evolved over the years, he says he’s seen the Northern Quarter, the area in and around Tib Street, go from ‘just pet shops and knocking shops’ to being filled with bars and coffee shops. “It’s changed a lot,” he says. “We used to have real pubs. It’s just cocktail bars and burger bars now. There’s no characters left.”

The McCall's Organics store has sold a wealth of ingredients, breads, produce and cleaning products
The McCall's Organics store sold a wealth of ingredients, breads, produce and cleaning products -Credit:Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News

When the developments for the new block, which will include more than 360 apartments, were first proposed, consideration had been made for the markets to relocate across the road. But in the six years since, that proposed alternative site has now also been sold for development.

“Initially, they were supposed to be building us new like-for-like units across the road, so we were sort of in agreement for it,” Mark says of those initial plans. “But, money talks and plans change. Three small businesses aren’t going to stop a multi-million pound development, are they?”

Carolyn 'Caz' Davis was a regular customer of McCall's grocers, and joined their Organics store when it opened ten years ago
Carolyn 'Caz' Davis was a regular customer of McCall's grocers, and joined their Organics store when it opened ten years ago -Credit:Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News

A planning application for the site, which was approved in 2020, suggests that the new build would see units on 20-22 and 24-36 High Street demolished as well as the market. The new site is set to include commercial floorspace on the ground floor for shops, restaurants and takeaways.

In January 2022, McAleer & Rushe investment and development firm MRP bought the site from CEG for around £8m. A spokesperson for MPR told the M.E.N about its plans: "We are collaborating with Manchester City Council on future development proposals which will support the regeneration of the city centre, and we look forward to presenting plans in due course and engaging with the wider community through the public consultation phase.”

Mark and Lisa's granddad Thomas Hamilton working the market stall in his late teens
Mark and Lisa's granddad Thomas Hamilton working the market stall in his late teens -Credit:Lisa McCall

To help Mark out at the stall, his sister Lisa has been working at the grocers for the last 14 years. She said she has been ‘in tears’ all week as customers have popped in to share their sadness over the markets going.

“People have been very loyal to us over the years,” she explains. “Especially when there is a Tesco and a Co-op across the road. But it’s that sort of interaction and sense of community that you can’t really get anywhere else.”

She shares two cards that a customer, who signed their name as Lucy, brought in for them. Hand drawn and beautifully illustrated, they include messages of how the family have ‘kept me fed for the last five years’ and ‘been a reminder that the city isn’t so big and unfriendly after all’.

Lisa McCall has worked at the stall with her brother for 14 years
Lisa McCall has worked at the stall with her brother for the last 14 years -Credit:Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News

Between the Organics stall, which has been run by friend Carolyn 'Caz' Davis since opening ten years ago, and the grocers next door, they also supply to local businesses and traders. Through their extensive collection of goods, they’ve built up a firm rapport with customers as the place to get vegetables and ingredients you don't find in the supermarkets.

The quality of their yams, plantains, chocho, green banana and scotch bonnet peppers all drew customers into the city centre from across Greater Manchester. As supermarkets have eaten into traditional greengrocers' margins, the McCall family stayed relevant with tropical delicacies.

“We have a lot of Jamaican, African and Asian customers that we cater for,” Mark explains. “You find as the years go by, people’s shopping habits have changed.

A loyal customer, who has been buying at the stalls for the last five years, drew two cards to thank the McCall's
A loyal customer, who has been buying at the stalls for the last five years, drew two cards to thank the McCall's -Credit:Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News

"Things have moved on, but we have managed to adapt with it and that’s why we’ve managed to remain so successful. If people asked for something and we didn’t have it, we’d make sure we had it in the next week.”

But with signs dotted around the market now indicating that the stalls will be closing for good on September 14, with the last remaining tins and produce being sold off at half price, and fixtures and fittings slowly being removed from units, there is no mistaking the markets are shutting up for good.

A young Mark (R), aged around 14, pictured working the market stall with his uncle Anthony
A young Mark (R), aged around 14, pictured working the market stall with his uncle Anthony -Credit:Lisa McCall

“I thank everybody for their custom,” Mark says. “Everyone in the Northern Quarter has supported us all these years, and it’s been very good. I’ve enjoyed it. But it’s time, it’s time to go.”

Whilst the land is not owned by Manchester Council, council bosses have attempted to help traders since plans for the development were filed. The M.E.N has been told that the traders have been compensated with a 'settlement', although the details of the payment have not been disclosed.

A Manchester City Council spokesperson told the M.E.N: “Church Street has been a popular market in the heart of the Northern Quarter for some years, and we have worked with those traders in an attempt to relocate their businesses since it was first announced in 2022 that the market would eventually close after planning permission was granted for a comprehensive development by the owner of the adjacent properties to regenerate the wider site.

"Unfortunately, after extensive efforts we were unable to find an alternative market site that suited all parties, and we have since agreed a settlement with the businesses as part of the closure process. We'd like to thank the traders for their service to our city."