In the Market

The Sunday Times recently named Old Market as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the UK. But is the accolade justified? We spoke to some of those who live, work and play in the area to find out what they think.

Chris Williams, owner of No. 25a

“I think Old Market is amazing, I love it. It’s still kind of undiscovered. There’s a lot of stuff happening now: it’s close to the city centre, rent is still relatively low, the buildings are handsome,  and it’s got a vibe; it’s got edge to it.

“Gentrification is a buzzword and I think it means a lot of things. People get it confused and I don’t think it’s just about small businesses coming in. To me, new businesses here are a no-brainer. Maybe I would say differently if it was a Starbucks or Tesco, but it isn’t. It’s small, independent businesses. It would be really good to see people getting behind that.

There is definitely a community here, I don’t know everyone but I know quite a lot of people. We are all pushing for the same thing, we want Old Market to become a destination.

“There is definitely a community here, and we are all pushing for the same thing: we want Old Market to become a destination. There are still shit-loads of problems, but what I would like is a good, balanced representation of Old Market. There’s a lot going for it. We need more focus on the businesses that are here. It’s underrated and I think that as an area we need more support. We need more people here.”

Nathan Harber, co-owner of West Street Kitchen

“We picked this area as it is close to the town centre, which is pretty ideal for a coffee shop. There aren’t too many chains which is attractive, a nice independency, good nightlife and nice friendly people.

“Old Market is developing and changing really really quickly. When we took on the shop a year-and-a-half ago, it took us six months to renovate, and we noticed other places similar to us, the slightly more ‘hip’ shops, opening. Also, there’s the developments. There’s a massive block of luxury flats being built behind us; that’s happened since we took on the shop. You can see the area changing quite quickly, but to me, at the moment, it is a good development. I really do like it here. I am biased as I do hang out here quite a lot, but generally at night I think it feels quite safe and there’s a lot of interesting things going on.

“There is a worry about bigger brands coming to Old Market, if we suddenly had a Burger King or McDonalds, it wouldn’t be the same.”

Hannah Bartlett, co-owner of Jokoto Tailoring

“We have been her for nine months, so it’s still really new. It’s much easier to rent here, which is what attracted us to Old Market: the prices are low but you are quite central to town. I actually really like Old Market. It’s got this edge, this vibe, and no one else is doing what we are doing in this area. I think it is on the up, which could mean that in six years’ time the rent goes up, but then at the same time it’s great.

“This used to be the shopping area in Bristol, the ‘golden mile’, so there’s a lot of history of this being a shopping area before the roads cut us off from the centre of town. It’s nice to bring that bit of history back.

“We may not have been here long but I have noticed a few things popping up. It’s really empowering as there are a lot of start-ups, and it’s nice to be able to support that. I feel pretty positive about Old Market. It feels good here at the moment.”

Sam Witts, Alex Does Coffee, and owner of Hidden Temple printers

“We were the original ‘cool’ coffee shop here. We have been here four years, and it’s just a nice place to be. It’s central, there are parks nearby, and it’s just a little bit more chilled out than Stokes Croft.

“There’s a really good sense of community with all the businesses as well. Around here we all help each other out; we all work with each other, we all do jobs for each other and know each other really well. We look out for each other.

“There’s been a hell of a lot of change and we are starting to see more money put in to the area, I think, with new owners painting the shops and stuff. Then you’ve got the Old Market Assembly that opened up a few years ago, which just seems to be going from strength to strength.”

Deslynn Smith, student at BIMM

“I think part of Old Market street looks a bit rundown and feels a little dodgy at times and I don’t really like walking through it by myself. But there are some really cool things happening down here, like Glitch the hairdresser and recording places. It’s pretty cool.

“I think that the area is a little similar to Stokes Croft, but because the city is so close it is completely different. The city is buzzing with life and Old Market isn’t really. I don’t really think it has the same effect as the actual city.”

Alan Richards, retired

“I was down here at the Punch Bowl last night. I like the beer here. I come down here on a night for a pint. It’s quite a busy little area, it’s nice. There’s people passing through all the time, this way or that.

“I was born in Bristol, moved away for a couple of years, but have basically been here all my life. I used to work in a brewery around here for 24 years. I used to see Old Market near enough every day. It has changed. Everything has changed; some for good, some for bad.

“I would say generally it’s good but obviously the traffic is a pain the arse and the infrequency of the busses. It’s hard to make things better because how do you do away with the traffic?”

Liam Boulton, stylist at Glitch

“I hadn’t really been here much before working here but I really like it. It’s really communal; all the businesses help each other and work together.

“I’ve only been in Bristol for about two years but even since then I think Old Market has got a lot better. There is more stuff opening, like West Street Kitchen, and it is getting a lot busier. I notice it more now because we have the Grano Kitchen in the shop and more and more people are coming in for lunch.

“Old Market is disconnected from town. It’s not but it is, if you know what I mean? I feel like Old Market is getting more and more well known, I think it needs more attention!”

John Jones, bar staff at the Old Market Assembly

“I’ve worked at Old Market Assembly for four or five months. I moved to this venue because I really like the street and the history. This building was a Lloyds bank, and then it was was a string of gay clubs that closed down just after I moved to Bristol. It is still surrounded by the community that went to that venue so we do get a really eclectic mix of consumers here.

“We still get the people who went for those really dirty, sweaty, sweat-box club nights, and of course they are 20 or 30 years older now, and they come in and tell their really interesting stories, which is so cool to live around.

“Recently there’s a lot more smaller boutiques opening up, which is cool because they are small independent businesses. This is really good for an area.

“People have opposing opinions because Old Market used to be a really working class area with a lot of gay clubs. That was their community but now they might be ostracised from that. The Assembly isn’t a gay club but we are an LGBT+ friendly venue and try to reach out to the community.”

Ruth Konieczna, student at UWE

“I like Old Market because there are lots of pubs and the off licence is cheap. They know me by name now! There are a lot of diverse shops and there’s a lot to do. Old Market is a really nice area to live in.

“I’ve only just moved to the area but have been around it quite a long time as I have family here. It’s my favourite place to live as it’s so different from any other area. I feel like there is kind of a seedy underbelly to the area, but that is the same for the whole of Bristol. Other than that there are no big problems for me. I go to the Old Market Tavern here quite a lot; it has a good atmosphere.”

Skylar Sinclair, manager at Old Market Tavern

“I think Old Market is quite a nice area. I have personally never had any trouble here. My friends were moving in here and I needed somewhere to live, so it was literally that or be homeless. But now that I do live here, it’s nice, it’s really central, but just far out enough that you don’t get the hassle that I think you get in the centre.

“I’ve seen a few places opening up and closing down since I have been here, and 99 per cent of the time I feel totally safe but sometimes I wake up and see loads of police. One of the flats was unoccupied and there were a few homeless people squatting there. Homelessness is a bit of a problem, probably one of the biggest problems in the area.

“I think Old Market is somewhere to be away from all of the really main places to be. If you want to go out somewhere and have a nice time but you don’t want the real hustle and bustle and loudness, it’s quite a relaxed street to be on. You can go to the centre but Old Market is much better. I think the more people there are the more chance there is going to be problems, but we rarely have any problems. I think this a symptom of being just a little bit outside.”

Charlie Haughton, chef at The Exchange

“What attracted me to Old Market was actually this place. It puts a lot of good music on and sound people run it, which is kind of rare. One of my favourite things about Old Market is the bookshop up the road, Hydra, where you can still get a coffee for a quid.”

“Old Market changes a lot, which I guess can be good and can be bad. New places are always opening and derelict buildings are getting done up, and probably being turned into wanky flats, which won’t be good in the long run but there are also some places like this that are doing a lot of good stuff.

“I think there’s quite a good community spirit in the area. We get quite a few rough sleepers from the area that come in and we always give them coffee; they are a big part of this area. It’s good to acknowledge that and not just like shove them on like a lot of other places do.”