The Liquor Store First Street launches in style – finally bringing nightlife to Manchester’s newest district

The Liquor Store is the ultimate Manc/American hybrid. Clean New York/LA styling with lots of warm brick, soft wood and dark leather meets Mancunian hospitality, music and humour.

The second site on First Street mimics the welcome of the original site on Deansgate – the same décor, the same hint of classic NYC, the same Mancunian heart. The spirit has very much been kept alive and kicking.

Instead of lining the walls with The Rat Pack, we have the Manc Pack – Tony Wilson, The Charlatans, Les Dawson, Steve Coogan, Caroline Aherne in Mrs Merton form, to name but a few. The great, the good and the characters of the north west.

They are honoured, too, on the Mancunian Walk of Fame that lines First Street featuring 20 of our most famous sons and daughters – another, albeit temporary, nod to the glamour of the US.

Upstairs there’s a striking central signpost that marks not Route 66 but Coronation Street and the Hacienda, and a text cloud artwork that might be confusing to some but sounds familiar and perhaps even a little cheering to even the most recently adopted Manc.

It’s always been the little touches that make The Liquor Store special. The customer service has always been excellent and there is no doubt that this will remain the case.

The new Liquor Store bar will be serving up classic American dishes daily and the drinks menu promises to be packed with innovative cocktails, including the Made of MCR, the latest cocktail creation which combines all the famous flavours of the city in one seriously tasty drink.

The cocktail list is still full of titles that will have you reaching deep into your record collection, if not your movie back catalogue. You never forget your first sip of Tina Turner Died (nor the name) and the happy hour deals are legendary.

But for some of us, there’s a little something extra about The Liquor Store that makes it special. A twinkle in the eye, a little cheeky smile, a knowing nod. This is a place for after work or something a little later.

After all, what happens in The Liquor Store stays in The Liquor Store.