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Businesses along a historic Nottingham street say business is “fantastic” despite several store closures in recent months across the city. Angel Row is not believed to have been known as a shopping street until well into the 18th century, but it is now home to a number of pubs, restaurants and shops.

Recent challenges, including rising inflation and increased online shopping, have led to the closure of several Nottingham businesses in recent months. Nottinghamshire Live recently identified around 90 empty shops in the city centre.

But at Angel Row, some of its business owners say its niche offerings are helping them overcome the economic challenges many face. One of the companies that call Angel Row home is Element Games, a Warhammer games shop and workshop that also has branches in places like Manchester and Sheffield.

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The store manager is Ed Wilkins who said, “One of our main selling points is that we have very competitive prices compared to other outlets and in a cost of living crisis that obviously helps. Obviously this is a great location to step on.” and we just offer something a little different.”

Customer service assistant Tom Bentley added: “When Henry Cavill declared himself a huge Warhammer fan, that really helped us. But overall I would say the trade has been fantastic and unlike a lot of hobby shops where there’s almost a pressure for someone to buy something, we’d rather someone come here, have a nice sailing and experience and then want to come back.”

Another of the businesses that gives Angel Row its diverse mix is ​​NGVape, which fronts Angel Row but is classified as part of the West End Arcade. Its manager, Kwan Lam, said: “Being in this area, we obviously benefit from having a lot of trade from college students and people commuting to and from work.

“Obviously, smoking is an addiction, so we’re seeing more and more people come here and use these products as a way to quit. After the pandemic, the demand really seemed to pick up and it’s still going strong.”

One of Angel Row’s oldest businesses is Heavenly Desserts, which began trading on the street in 2016. Manager Xavier Carvalho said: “Business has been strangely slow this past week but is now picking up and generally it’s been really good for the last eight months.

“We have long hours, but our busiest times are in the evenings, especially between 7pm and 11pm, before people go out for the night. It’s a great place to be and overall it’s us doing very well at the moment.”

Speaking earlier in the year about the need for a diverse mix of businesses on Nottingham’s high streets, East Midlands Chamber of Commerce chief executive Scott Knowles said: “It’s important that we recognize that the city center of today will not look like it did in the pre-COVID-19 years, when retail played a dominant role.The successful cities of today and tomorrow will feature a mix of places for people to live, work and spend time free, which means we need to think more broadly and creatively about our future High Street proposal.”

It comes after plans were unveiled to improve the area around Angel Row and Maid Marian Way, in a bid to make the city center safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

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