Deansgate is the longest street in Manchester, and houses some of the oldest and most significant structures in the city. That being said, the iconic road has been without a record shop for almost 30 years, but now that’s about to change – and then some.
Resident, a soon to be five-floor bar, kitchen, record store and club built around the city’s underground music culture, opens on Deansgate on Thursday 12th November. First out of the sleeve is Electric Pizza Shop: a red-lit room below street level where the needle drops on future disco, the cocktails are made with real care, and the pizza keeps coming by the slice until late.
Resident is a brand-new venture that isn’t like any existing venue, and it isn’t opening like one. Instead, it will unfold like a record over its first year, in a series of releases called Volumes. Each one adds a new layer to the building: new rooms, new kitchens, new nights and new names behind the decks. Volume One is all about the music.
Electric Pizza Shop is built for the kind of night that starts with a slice and ends on the dancefloor. Head down the stairs into a red-lit room built around the DJ booth, where the records are on show and the music sets the pace. The pizza is fresh, hot and served by the slice or by the box, there to fuel a night out or soak one up.
Behind the bar, the cocktails are taken seriously without being precious: classics done properly, a few twists of the house’s own, and ice-cold martinis built to sit alongside the music rather than compete with it.
After dark, the basement and ground floor become the club, and it all starts with the bookings. Resident picks its DJs for the quality of their selections, the crowd they bring and the culture around them, not for their follower counts or what the data says. More often than not, the headliners will have released music themselves or own their own labels, and those records will be in the racks for anyone who wants to take the night home with them.
Each headliner will be paired with Resident’s own DJs, so the nights start real conversations and lasting relationships rather than one-off bookings. The first season of parties is free, with guestlist sign-up through the venue’s website, running Thursday to Saturday.
The core residents are Urbi, Shimrise, Groove Division, Joe Roche, Bay, SUI 13, Rhod Parry, Jacinta, Jordan Villa, Pez and Maclo, and between them they cover everything from Chicago and deep house to percussive Latin house, garage and acid.
Opening night belongs to Holly Lester. The Belfast DJ, producer and Free the Night co-founder headlines on Thursday 12th November, and few selectors fit Resident better.
As the year goes on, the ground floor will become home to Asian kitchens and the first floor to Latin and Mexican kitchens, each run by inspiring young chefs on their way up, with applications open now. The aim throughout is to find and nurture raw talent in music, food and the arts, and give it a stage on Deansgate.
Arytom Dmitrijev, founder of Resident and Electric Pizza Shop, said: “It’s about independents coming together to make things happen. Every beer we pour is independent and local, with no big names. We’re working with strong local creatives and artists, produce-led chefs and DJs, partnering with the people who deserve it and championing Manchester’s creative, musical and culinary scenes.
“The venue’s design is upcycled, using materials gathered locally and reused. The design journey has unfolded during the build itself, shaped by what feels right for the space and by the materials and furniture I’ve had to work with. We’ve used the budget creatively and organically, focusing on light, comfort and what’s available. It’s about showing what you can do with simple materials to create something bold, striking and beautiful.”
Bringing record shops back to Deansgate
Resident is also home to a record shop run by Do As You Please (DAYP), the Manchester label, vinyl store and DJ collective founded by Niall Roche in 2018, bringing the first record store to Deansgate since 1996. Its crates focus on short-run and hard-to-find electronic records from Europe, the US and Japan, and DAYP will host listening parties and in-store events on the ground floor.
Niall Roche, founder of Do As You Please, said: “DAYP is the product of persistent exploration of Manchester’s music scene and being surrounded by purpose-driven people . Over the past few years it’s become its own world of incredible, talented friends, sonic rarities and fun, interesting art.
“Deansgate hasn’t had a record shop for almost thirty years, so giving the store a home here, under the same roof as the club, means more than I can say. We hope to do the city’s legacy justice in our own vibrant, contemporary way and would love to welcome you to be a part of it.”
140 Deansgate history
Sandwiched between the Sawyer’s Arms (one of the oldest pubs in the city) and Grampian House (the Lost Dene), 140 Deansgate has quite the history with clubbing and music venues. Having formerly been home to Majestic Club, The Birdcage and more recently the Fantasy Bar, the building dates back to the Victorian era when it was built as Gas Committee showrooms and offices, in keeping with much of Manchester’s history.
The façade is striking and just waiting for something worthwhile and unique like Resident to come in and revive some more recent Manchester history, bringing music, culture and nightlife together.
Resident opening night
Resident: Volume One opens on Thursday 12th November at 140 Deansgate. Electric Pizza Shop opens first, with an independent coffee partner, yet to be revealed, serving by day.
Entry to the first season of parties is free – keep an eye on the Resident Instagram page.
