There's a Tesco, Sainsbury's, Co-op popping up on every corner of the city centre and it doesn't…read morestop at one branch of the supermarket giants' one stop city centre shops. The domination and battle of the supermarket giants are ever present in the city centre, you can find like four mini Tescos around the vicinity of Deansgate and Piccadilly areas. A lot anyway. So here's to the Xpress on Whitworth Street West, one of a few cornershop types springing up in the city, to balance the equilibrium of the chain store masses and inject a little local to the often impersonable, daunting city centre. Xpress Local has recently opened up on my route to university. I've watched it been transformed from an empty space, learnt what it takes for a cash machine to be installed whilst thinking damn, this is where my late night snacking will take it's higher form. Xpress stocks all your basic groceries, milk, cheese, bread and acts as your off license too. I've used it for the range of bad snacks on offer, which has been bad for the healthy eating regime plus the purse. It annoyingly does not display prices on a lot of things which I thought was because it was opening mid-finish but this isn't the case. Annoyingly so, one late night purge, I watched my tube of pringles being scanned to reveal £1.99. I knew I should have purchased the half price ones in Tesco. Xpress is one of those places you just pop in and get the things you want or crave or when you're under time pressure. There may not be an extensive range of fresh or organic what nots but you can expect a pleasant none lengthy queue if you do find yourself in here.

Shudehill Convenience Store is located on Shudehill, it is basically next to Shudehill, Shudehill /…read moreMayes St (Stop Nm) bus stop and around a minute or two on foot away from Shudehill, one of the main bus stations in the city to get around Greater Manchester. As suggested by the slightly unoriginal name, Shudehill Convenience Store it is a convenience style newsagents store, one of the many stores of its' type in Manchester city centre which includes one of four in the Shudehill area, including a Manchester Souvenirs and News and Spar across the way, and Arden News inside Shudehill Bus Station. Sadly, compared to the trio of extremely nearby neighbours this store ranks the worst. The store seems a bit confusing and hit and miss, and appears to do too many things at once, after entering the store through a step it is kind of cluttered to navigate as there is the main counter which includes MyHermes drop-offs, another counter which appears to be for mobile phones and/or cigarettes and then the rest of the shop floor. The overall look and feel of the store isn't fantastic, and in the case of essentials, the selection is kind of limited. The service didn't seem great, with staff not standing out as friendly. Once again, I'm struggling to see the need for this store with so many similar rivals nearby, on a plus side this is the only MyHermes drop off store in the Shudehill area with the Spar store across the way not offering the service, but this once again is seen as less as a bonus with many other stores nearby who offer the service just a short walk away. Due to a poor, confusing and cheap overall feel and the store not offering something you can't get just a stone's throw away and overall being quite disappointing from selection to staff and everything in-between, I sadly feel a one-star rating is in order here.

This is a great wee convenience store selling everything from papers to milk to burgers to cakes…read moreand scotch eggs! Lots of home made produce here which is well worth a try, and good value too.

Whether you are having a party or just want somewhere to buy a cheap drink, then you should go to…read moreJays. I think this is a great shop for alcohol and they have fantastic deals too. They stock everything you need such as all your beers wines and spirits plus your mixers too. Not only do they sell alcohol, they also have fireworks and cigarettes for sale. So if you are looking for some fireworks for your bonfire then this is the place to go as it is cheap.

The best thing about independent booze shops is that they are normally a lot cheaper than their…read morecorporate rivals. Jays wine and beer shop sells everything you need for a night in or as a precursor to night out. Staff are great and unlike some booze shops this place does not feel so threatening. Thats not to say you wont get some kid ask you to go in for them- but I think you will get that everywhere.

As is typical of Sainsburys locals, all the prices are much dearer than in your city centre store…read more That is to be expected for a local convenience store that opens early in the morning to late at night. The staff in Farm street are lovely. They are all very polite, pleasant and chatty. It does get quite busy in there at times and as it is only small, there is no space to queue but the staff are very competent and soon get through the queue. The shelves are always well stocked and if you can't find what you want you can always ask. Of course there isn't much choice on offer but the selling point is like I said the convenience. They do have a good reduced section though and you can usually get reduced priced bread and salads as well as meats and fish. Sainsburys local do still have some of the offers on from the big stores so it is always worth a look if you have one near you.

Sainsbury's local is a chain of convenience stores, average prices and a good range of everyday…read moreessentials. The staff can't do enough to help you, and whilst the store is only small it has car parking, atm, lottery and pay point. I also noticed they have flowers, cards and gift card, always handy for last minute presents! Unlike most convenience stores in the area they tend to have pretty good avalability, and if its not in stock the staff will find out when its back, or if a another store has it. Always a pleasure to shop there, even if it gets a bit busy!

Excellent store that stocks everything you need from household to alcohol, mags and papers etc…read more Nice Staff and a very clean store too! Recommended

A very good little shop. You can buy a lot of different things here including food, alcohol and…read moretobaco. It is reasonably priced, not anything special. It does however have long opening times which comes in handy. Always seems to be clean and well maintained. It is just outside the city center.

At last! The British weather finally matches the lovely sunny greeting that is always waiting for…read moreyou within! If any store keeper/retail outlet wants to know the real meaning of customer service then this is where they need to visit. I just popped in for a drink and some chewing gum and stayed a good 5 minutes talking. The owners really do have the right attitude. A big old 5 stars!!

A useful Convenience Store open 24/7 in the city centre on Piccadilly, just a couple minutes away…read morefrom Piccadilly Gardens and Piccadilly Stations, while the prices are high they do have a pretty good selection of essentials which is great if you live in town. The prices, on the other hand, are on the pricey side, there are other stores nearby who offer a similar, or even better range of products at a lower price so if you are visiting during the day (when those stores are open), you would be better off going there. Sadly, there didn't seem to be a gluten-free section. They did have some but limited offers around the store, and while most items were overpriced, some were competitive value. Decent store, useful location if you're in a rush or late at night but there are similar/better stores within 30 seconds on foot away. 3*

This place sucked poor customer service etc I don't have time to waste discussing how bad this…read moreplace was

Jet News is a superb newsagents and convenience store on Kingswood Road. Its also the only one…read morebetween Fallowfield and Mauldeth Road, so if you are in the area, or you live nearby, you'd better make this your local stop for all things immediately required. Its basically a normal newsagents, which sells all the usual things, but there's absolutely no point (within reason) on which you can catch it out. Newspapers, confectionary, milk and bread, alcohol, its got it all, and always in stock, at good prices. Also, its got an alarming collection of football stickers if that's your thing. The piece de resistance though, without a shadow of a doubt (the phrase not the Hitchcock film), is the wine. For £5, that's right, just £5, you can buy 2 bottles of wine. That's £2.50 a bottle don't you know. And the most surprising thing.. its absolutely fine! If I had to call it either way, I'd say its nice! Honestly. Its worth the trip down there to stock up, as I have never witnessed such good value vin rouge this side of the English Channel. P.s. they sometimes close for an hour at lunch so be prepared for marginal disappointment on occasion.

I am perhaps biased about the quality of Jet News due to it's sheer convenience to myself. Located…read moreapproximately 2 meters from my front door, it is the corner shop of dreams. It has everything I could ever possibly want! From newspapers on a Sundays, to bacon and eggs on a hung over Saturday, to a cheeky packet of chewing gum on my way to work during the week. It meets every single one of my needs perfectly! But by far and away the best thing about it is, as Alfie has already mentioned, is the 2 bottles of wine for £5. All I can say is that whoever is putting them at that price clearly knows nothing about wine. It's really good red wine, but only costs £2.50 a bottle. I have spent a tenner on bottle of wine in the local supermarket that were not a patch on the Jet wine. I reckon I have probably saved hundreds of pounds this year alone from that absolute bargain, and for this reason alone, Jet news gets the thumbs up.