Six months ago, it would have been hard to imagine Manchester's Northern Quarter not teeming with life.

This popular corner of the city centre is home to dozens of independent bars and cafes, as well as pop-up markets, boutique shops and a few traditional pubs.

Its narrow pavements are usually filled with pedestrians weaving their way between bars, heading out to brunch, or sampling the area's many restaurants.

But since the UK went into lockdown, it's largely become a ghost town.

There are very few essential businesses in this area, which has led to street after street of locked doors and shuttered windows.

Orders being taken at Just Between Friends

With no clear 'finish line' in sight to the coronavirus outbreak, and hospitality reopenings out of the question until July 4 at the earliest, the industry is beginning to adapt.

Cautiously, and carefully, there are signs of life appearing in the Northern Quarter again.

Over the last few weeks, pedestrians have suddenly begun to clutch coffee cups again, and cardboard boxes of cakes.

Such goods are a luxury, of course, but a tiny taste of normality for residents in the area.

Residents in the area have been grateful for a sample of normality

Izzy Wallis is behind Just Between Friends, a tiny coffee shop on Tib Street that was one of the first to open up shop again, selling coffee and cakes as well as a small range of essential groceries from local businesses.

Izzy said: "We were really cautious when we reopened, we just wanted to make sure it was safe and that customers were comfortable with how things were going."

The cafe has marked the pavement outside and moved its till into the window, so that customers can order at one side of the shop's front and collect their order at the other.

The reappearance of barista coffee was welcomed quickly, and trade has picked up again in the last week since lockdown restrictions were marginally relaxed.

"Things definitely feel like they've relaxed a little bit," Izzy said, "But I think the two-metre rule is respected. You're used to queueing now, used to waiting, used to giving each other space.

"We've had a really positive response. People have said it gives them that touch of normality, that bit of daily life they're used to. It's a bit of hope.

"It's been great to get back open. It's obviously not a brilliant time for the hospitality industry.

"The government help's been great but it's not the same as having your doors open, giving your staff hours. The daily routine really helps."

Also dishing their goods out through an open window is Evelyn's, the often-photographed cafe bar further down Tib Street.

As well as its coffees and brunch dishes, it's setting up a full, socially-distanced cocktail bar at the front door for the bank holiday weekend.

Ant at Evelyn's doorway cocktail bar

Front of house manager Ant Everatt said: "It's been nice to get back and keep busy.

"The response has been really good. We didn't shout about it too much to start with - we just wanted to test drive it and make sure things worked okay.

"A lot of other places have opened at the same time as us. The Northern Quarter's definitely coming back, you can tell that there are more people walking about."

Federal, an Australian/New Zealand-style cafe near Shudehill, is usually crowded and tightly-packed with customers rubbing elbows as they eat corn fritters and banana bread.

But now, its doors are largely closed to its customers, who instead have to queue outside on branded, two-metre-spaced floor stickers for their takeaway orders and bread from Lovingly Artisan.

Claudio Ribiero is the owner at Federal, which has a second site on Deansgate that remains closed.

He said: "We waited until the government changed their policy a little bit - we could have stayed open throughout for takeaway and delivery but wanted to make sure things were safe for our staff and our customers.

"We've had to leave a lot of our staff on furlough. The only ones we've allowed to come back to work are the ones who live in the city centre, so that no one has to use public transport.

"Not knowing when we'll see them again or be able to get them back to work is quite stressful.

"But it's generally been very positive. People are only having to wait a few minutes for their food and they're always happy to do so."

On the other end of the scale, and one of the largest cafes in the Northern Quarter, is Ezra & Gil, which sits on the corner of Hilton Street and Newton Street.

A foot-operated hand sanitiser in Ezra and Gil

It's undertaken the most drastic of alterations to be able to operate safely.

Furniture has been stripped out, foot-operated hand sanitising stations have been installed, PPE acquired and screens installed at the counter.

With two entrances, Ezra & Gil has implemented a strict one-way system, with staff on the door to control foot traffic and keep the number of people inside down.

It's also making the most of its app, encouraging people to order in advance and come to collect.

Alison Creely from Ezra & Gil said: "We're closely monitoring the government guidance and will continue to that going forward. We're going into an unknown, everything is so uncertain, but we're feeling positive so far.

"It's brought a smile to people's faces. You can literally see them beaming when they walk out with a coffee in their hand - it's so simple."

"We just wanted to provide a little bit of hope that things could go back to normal."