Super Grainger Market!

September 2, 2019 by Rachel Kershaw in Shopping 3

I’ve been a huge fan of the Grainger Market ever since I moved to Newcastle. This bustling covered market hall has been providing locals and visitors with an eclectic shopping experience since 1835.

Tradition is still at its heart with plenty of fruit and veg traders, butchers, haberdashery stalls and the like. It is even home to the world’s smallest Marks and Spencer store, which also happens to be the last surviving ‘Penny Bizarre’.

I love Christmas Shopping here and scouring the rails at M&S for sale bargains!

You can’t go wrong with fresh fish for tea!

In recent years the Grainger Market has welcomed lots of new and exciting traders too, and its appeal now spreads across all demographics. Some of Newcastle’s best foodie hot spots and quirky hidden gems can be found in the vibrant Grainger Market and there are more reasons to visit than ever before!

Two of my personal faves in the Grainger Market!

Re-create summer holiday memories with Spanish food and wine from La Casa

So, you can imagine my delight when I started to notice lots of lovely photos and videos pop up on my social media feeds shouting about my much loved Grainger Market, with the hashtag #supergraingermarket. At first I thought perhaps the traders had got together and hired a PR guru or managed to secure funding for a much needed marketing campaign; but after a little digging I discovered it was all down to the lovely Rachael, co-founder of Newcastle’s best vintage store, The Yesterday Society which calls the Grainger Market its home.

I tracked Rachael down to find out more and she was kind enough to tell me all about her campaign to spread the love for Newcastle’s Grainger Market….

Rachael’s shop inside the Grainger Market is must visit for vintage lovers!

Tell us a bit about yourself Rachael…

I’m a local girl who grew up in Walker.  I have always loved vintage clothing and homewares, throughout my teens I loved to stand out from the crowd and went through a variety of fashion phases from skater to goth. Finally, at University I settled on a more vintage wardrobe, loving the unique style wearing vintage allowed. I even managed to write my BA Human Geography dissertation on vintage clothing. After Uni I travelled around Asia, returning to an events job at the Tyneside Cinema. On my first day at the cinema I met Rosie, who a few years in the future (2013) I would set up The Yesterday Society with.

What is The Yesterday Society?

It’s an Aladdin’s cave packed to the rafters with vintage and retro clothing and accessories for men and women. Stock is updated daily, and I keep everything affordable so you will always find a diverse range of items at great prices. I also have a jam-packed stock room too which might just contain that one-off item.

Why did you create the hashtag #supergraingermarket?

The Yesterday Society turned six at the end of August and I was looking for a way to celebrate this achievement. I believe The Grainger Market is a great asset to the city, however I am often shocked by the number of people that don’t know what the market has to offer, and still have outdated views of the market. After working on the highly successful recent night markets, I was looking for another opportunity to promote the whole market, raise its profile and help it reach a new and varied audience .

Therefore, I came up with #supergraingermarket to shout about the variety of businesses the Grainger Market has to offer, after all it was Newcastle’s historic supermarket. I also thought a great way of marking the occasion would be to challenge myself to feature one of my top tips from the Grainger Market each day in August. As an independent business owner, I know how hard it can be and the joy even a small bit of recognition of what you do can bring, so hope that by using the # I can spread the love to other traders.

How Can People Get Involved?

I encouraged other traders to get on board and work together during August to promote each other, several businesses got involved by doing top tip videos that have been shared by Newcastle City Council and also top tip posts on their own social media accounts (shout out to Ellen’s Cosmetics, Robinson’s Pets, Snackwallah, Bryan Muyers, Rise, Pumphreys and Retro Game). I have also asked customers to do the same and shout about their favourite businesses in the market.

I’ve had a great response with lots of people liking and sharing posts; commenting that they didn’t know certain businesses were in the market and would now definitely visit; and remarking how much they are enjoying the posts from the challenge. It would be great if more people could get involved and I would love for the # to be continued.

So there you have it, what a brilliant way to put the Grainger Market on people’s radars? I think Rachael has done a brilliant job of raising the market’s profile and encouraging people to visit. I urge everyone to look up the hashtag and be inspired, you can also share your own thoughts and recommendations using #supergraingermarket to help keep the hashtag going strong. Most importantly though, do try to pop in and shop local to keep the market thriving, Newcastle wouldn’t be the same without it!