Step inside the former Handy Hardware in Shaw Heath in Stockport today and you’ll hardly believe your eyes. This time last year, the family behind the DIY shop sold up after 60 years in business, having become a much-loved part of the local community.
Now, instead of floor-to-ceiling shelving packed to the rafters with everything from cleaning detergents and mops to gardening tools and sticky tape, you’ll find a piano, coffee roaster and local artwork proudly hanging on the walls. One item from the original store remains though - a freezer, which the new owners have converted into a mini library.
“It was a hardware store for many years and we’ve turned the fridge into a bookshelf for self-published authors so they can get their works read, but if you plug it in it still turns on,” explains Charlotte Josephine, who, along with her partner Daniel Dudek has transformed the space into Nocturne Cafe - a space for classical music fans, musicians and people who love good coffee. “People come in and will say, ‘the last time I was here I was buying nails’ and to be fair it has a lot of history around it.”
