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.

AFTABS! What does that mean? Is it a name? Does it stand for something?…read more If I was commissioned to decide what it stood for, I'd say.... A Fine and Timely Auspiciously Beneficial Shop. Its Fine, not so much in the sense of selling finery and beautiful decorative products (for which it is not the place), but in the sense of there being nothing wrong with it. Its got all your basics, from bread and milk to a fine selection of confectionary and crisps. Its Timely, certainly, because there are no other shops in the area, and if you're walking from Deansgate or Trafford to Oxford Road, you'll find the journey bleak and woeful. As you battle through the barren wasteland that is Hulme, AFTABS will come to you as would an oasis in the Sahara, providing a much needed Boost (or Twix) to get you through the remainder of the journey. Auspicious, because auspicious implies success in the future while propitious means favourable conditions in the present; auspicious means promising or of good omen - not just special or memorable. Aftabs have a range of new deals on beers, ciders, wines and spirits, which I think will ensure future prosperity once the students from the surrounding area cotton on. Beneficial, because you will benefit from the products purchased there. The reason for this is that you have purchases the products that you want or need. Shop, because is it a shop. A place where money may be exchanged for goods approximately to the value of the money paid. This money is usually in paper form and until recently was backed up by gold reserves in national banks.

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.

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.