Leeds Kirkgate Market: Inside old-school market thriving after fresh injection of new traders

We meet some of the traders at Leeds Kirkgate Market to discover what it’s like to be based there in an ever-changing retail landscape.

Last year, the historic market welcomed over 5.9 million visitors, a four per cent increase from 2023, and saw the arrival of 20 new businesses - the highest annual total to date.

Joanne, owner of The Nut Shop, said: “My husband and I have owned it for I think it's 27 years. I've actually been here since I was a 14-year-old Saturday girl. My mum was a single parent and I liked clothes and makeup and shoes like all teenage girls do and she said, ‘If you want all those things you’ll have to get a Saturday job and there’s one going at my shop’ because she worked for my predecessor.

“People stay at home and do the shopping in the pyjamas, by now one click, we're all guilty of that to a certain extent but I think I'm lucky in the fact that because we've been here so long I'm literally serving customers now that I was serving when I was a young girl and I'm also serving the children of customers that I served.

“If anybody wants to go into business and anybody's got the tenacity to say I'm going to give it a go do it do it do it do it, but be prepared to work hard because I've never worked as hard in my life, but I still get up every morning and I enjoy coming to work so I guess that says it all really.”

James, owner of Fat Annie’s, said: “In 2016, when this food hall first opened, luckily I managed to get one of the first units here. I was a bit of a gamble but over the years, we’ve just seen it get busier and busier. It’s doing really, really well and it’s also helped to bring on other traders to other parts of the market.

“It's a lot different from when we first started, 2016 I'd say things were on the decline a little bit, the glory days had gone, but it really feels like there's been fresh injection of new traders.

“It feels like a real old-school market, no pretension. It's just lovely because you get to know people over time.”

Stephen, owner of S Myers Seafood, said: “I've been here for about 35 years and this is my shop. It’s changed completely, it’s a lot busier now than it used to be. Went through a period where it was quiet and as Leeds has become more cosmopolitan, we have more variety of fish.

“Customers have become friends because we've known them for that long, we know all about them and that's what it's all about coming to a market. It's good, it's good that. They go away feeling happy.”

Mauricio, owner of Obleas To Go said: “Obleas To Go is a typical Colombian business and we have street food from Colombia and the most typical desserts in Colombia the name is Obleas. This place becomes a meeting point for all Latin people, from Mexico to Argentina, all of them are coming here and now many British people are really our regular customers so it's really nice.”