The changing face of Rochdale’s night time economy

Posted by on 16 Oct 2023

Photo © Paul Heyes

When perms, mullets and shoulder pads were all the fashion in the 1980’s the rise of nightclubs and bars saw a vibrant nightlife in the borough.  The era saw the emergence of new wave, punk, and electronic music scenes before moving on to rave, techno, and hip-hop in the 90’s, all of which influenced the nightlife culture through the latter part of the 20th century. 

Some may remember the Moorcock in Littleborough as a nightclub, Chamber House in Heywood, Hippos in Middleton which opened in 1988 and went on to become one of the hottest places to be in the 90’s with the likes of Carl Cox, The Prodigy,  808 State, Grooverider and Laurent Garnier all doing a stint behind the decks; Rochdale town centre was a hive of activity for party goers with a whole host of bars and nightclubs from Bentleys and Baillies to Bojangles and Tiffanys with its revolving dancefloor which then became Fatsos, ran by Manchester legend Foo Foo Lammar.

We spoke with Mike Howarth from the Howarth Brewing Company about the new era of the night time economy.  Mike, along with his wife Sarah, owns the Cap & Whippet and Hop & Vine in Norden, as well as Vicolo Del Vino on Baillie Street and as a true Rochalian has seen the changing faces of the town over the decades

After taking a trip down memory lane when the night life economy was booming, laughing over the ‘fashion’ back in the day and rekindling memories of a great nights out, I asked Mike about his thoughts in the future of hospitality in the area.

What made to move into hospitality sector?

“My wife Sarah and I were working in retail and logistics, and to be honest we didn’t want to do that for the rest of our lives, it was a weekend at CarFest where we noticed the cue for pizzas from the traditional stone baked pizza oven was never ending for the duration of the event, and that was our inspiration.  We enjoy cooking and good wine, and love Italy, so we bought a traditional stonebaked pizza oven and found a great spot that wasn’t a huge financial risk at Greave shops, and we opened Benjamin’s, traditional stone baked pizzeria named after our son who is now 23.“

“From here, we got the bug and opened Vicolo Del Vino on Baillie, initially it was going to be a wine shop where customers would enjoy a glass or two of great wine, buy a couple of bottles and go home, but we were three deep at the bar on the opening night and immediately changed to concept to what it is today, still offering great wine but also great food and live music with a regular customer base.”

What changes have you seen over the past decades?

“Rochdale used to be booming, I remember going out with friends’ early doors on a Saturday night then going home to change before hitting the clubs, you couldn’t wear jeans or trainers in nightclubs then.  Everywhere was buzzing from early evening to the early morning.

After the millennium, most of the old haunts had closed, more bars opened and then closed, clubs came and went, and the town didn’t come alive until after 11pm.  You could walk through Rochdale town centre at 9 o’clock on a Saturday night and there wouldn’t be many people around.”

What do you think changed?

“I believe the changes in the drinking laws had a massive impact, the local pubs no longer had to call last orders at 11pm so people stayed local, it was more convenient and the town didn’t have the pull of the nightlife it once had.”

What does the future night time economy look like?

“With the investment in the area, Rochdale looks very different today and we have a real opportunity to bring it back to life.  Particularly with the opening of the Hampton by Hilton and the imminent opening of the Upperbank apartments, these are great additions to the town, bringing in business professionals who are looking for places to eat and drink and driving the early evening economy in particular.”

“There will always be a place bars like Weatherspoons, but if you look at the eclectic mix of eateries and bars in Manchester, we are moving slowly towards replicating this with independent businesses in unusual venues.  Rochdale has some amazing architecture which is being maximized and adapted to create unique places, take the Medicine Tap for example, originally the Post Office building in the heart of the town, Mill About at Spotland Bridge Mill or the Tree House in the old dance school on Baillie Street.”

The Flying Horse and The Baum have survived over the decades and still remain popular, but there are many hidden gems, and an opportunity for more, these are exciting time ahead for the town and it is great to see it come alive again.