The changing face of busy street – only some shops stand test of time

Friar Lane is one of Nottingham city centre’s busiest streets, with shops, bars, cafes, offices and a row of bus stops, just off the Old Market Square. Over the years it has seen quite a few changes as demonstrated by a trawl through the archives.

The types of businesses have changed, with the arrival of more food and drink shops compared to 16 years ago. The good news is that most of the properties are occupied, unlike the empty units in some city streets. But only around a third of the businesses from 2008 still have a presence there today.

Leading comic, sci-fi and cult entertainment retailer Forbidden Planet remains as does outdoor clothing store Rohan. A newsagents, the Cancer Research charity shop, Hidden Hearing and a barber’s shop are other survivors. Tuckers Cafe, Chocolate Utopia and Costa Coffee haven’t changed but there’s been plenty of other comings and goings. Walkabout, the Australian sports bar, was replaced by the Bierkeller.

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What had previously been the Money Shop on the corner with Maid Marian Way turned into the Specialty Coffee Shop and while the property on the opposite side of the road has continued as an Indian restaurant, it changed from Chutney to Tuk Tuk Street food and recently reopened as Akshaya.

Hearing aid specialist Amplifon closed and made way for Gincident when gin bars were all the rage. It shut down after the pandemic and was eventually replaced by short-lived jacket potato shop Baked. Currently it’s Shawarma Haus.

Others have simply changed their names. The Games Workshop unit turned into Warhammer and the bar called The Approach became Southbank City. Friar Lane became home to Nottingham’s first cat cafe in 2015. Kitty Cafe took over two properties which were once occupied by estate agent Bairstow Eves and Remploy, an employment service for disabled people.

Businesses that have also vanished from the street include Boots Opticians, Cheque Centre, recruitment agency GI Group, Fussy Folk, jewellery and fashion retailer Work in Progress, and Chinese supermarket Fresh Oriental. More recent arrivals are City Nails and Beauty and the environmentally friendly Shop Zero.

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