The tale of Altrincham's regeneration is familiar by now.
Once blighted by the highest vacancy rate in the country, its high street is a now-thriving hive of independent restaurants, bars and shops - a turnaround credited to the perennially-popular food hall that took over part of its market in 2014.
Now there's another Trafford town snapping at its heels, with its own indoor food hall in the offing and a flourishing independent food and drink scene that's already begun to pave the way.
A new wave of restaurants and bars have started to settle in to Urmston in recent years, slotting in alongside stalwarts like the County Grills cafe to cater to the young professionals and families flocking to the area.
Among them is Get Chucked, which was opened just over two years ago by brothers-in-law Sean Robinson and Scott Power, building on the success of their pop-up street food events, Guerrilla Eats, in the city centre. Dipping their toes in tentatively at first, they soon found a healthy appetite for their burgers.
"It was initially going to be a six week residency to test the market. That turned into a full time job," says Scott.
"There were people travelling to the city centre to eat the same things and if we can offer the same thing and better on their doorstep they are more than willing to spend their money here."
It proved so popular they quickly moved from their original site on Gloucester Road to a larger unit on Flixton Road, where their neighbours include well-established micropub Prairie Schooner. They've freshened up the restaurant's offer for February with a month-long Mexican takeover, El Camino - another concept they could see working elsewhere in the town.
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"In the last two and a half years we've seen more of a city centre offering creeping into Urmston," says Sean, who also runs craft beer bar The Assembly on Station Road with wife Sophie.
"When we were looking for somewhere for the bar we looked in Altrincham and Chorlton but the rents were too expensive.
"There were a lot of empty shop units here three or four years ago. There's a lot less now. They've either been taken or are in the process of being turned into bars and restaurants or more quirky, niche shops.
"If a high street has food and drink places that are busy, retailers benefit too. Look at Altrincham - the thoroughfare was empty until the market opened. If you look at the other bars and restaurants that have opened they are all fairly busy and really good. Now the retailers are coming back - they want the spaces because the high street is bustling."
One such shop is Craft Brewtique, a bottle shop where customers can choose from around 250 craft beers to take home or drink in.
Owner Jay King opened the Flixton Road business two years ago and has found a strong customer base among the young professionals moving here from other, more expensive suburbs to start families.
"The schools are pretty good and house prices are quite a bit cheaper than in Chorlton. My friend who owns a removals firm used to move people from Chorlton to Urmston a lot," he says.
"[The clientele] is a lot of young father types; ones that used to like going out but can't necessarily these days, but don't mind spending money on good quality beer."
Another retail success story has been Urmston Artisan Market, which takes over the Golden Hill car park on the first Saturday of every month. Attracting shoppers with cash to splash on local, ethical and organic goods, it has given traders a testbed to try out ideas before going on to open their own places.
Among them is Urmston resident Fred Davids, who started out selling wines on the market and went on to open wine bar and bottle shop Kelder in a former charity shop on Station Road at the end of 2017.
Originally a microbiologist, he laughingly describes the venture as 'his mid-life crisis' - but it's working out for him.
"I spent a lot of time travelling with work and I wanted to do something to be part of the community," he says.
"I'm so cautious, I'm not a risk taker at all so I thought I'd try selling wines on the market and see if people were prepared to spend more than £6.99 at Aldi. It was a small cost to do it if it didn't work out.
"We tested it out for about a year and a half and over that time we got to know and play around with different wines and price points and got a feel for what people wanted, and built up a little bit of a local following.
"It just kind of snowballed from there. We've been really lucky; we've managed to get a nice customer following. Everyone has been very supportive."
Kelder stocks more than 140 different wines to take out or drink in by the bottle as well as a smaller selection by the glass, plus craft beers and spirits - although Fred says he's 'conscious of staying in his lane' and complementing, rather than competing, with neighbouring businesses.
"We don't do draught beer for instance, so when people ask I'll give them a list of bars that have really good beer," he says.
"If we try to compete with these businesses all that would happen is us independents would put each other out of business and then the chains will come in when we've put all the hard work in.
"In a town this size there's got to be a space for everybody. We can't be all things to all people and there is also a community in Urmston that's several generations old. We have to be respectful of what they want from a business as well as attracting the new people moving in from outside the area."
Among the newest arrivals is Kin Bakehouse and Kitchen, which opened inside the former Get Chucked unit on Flixton Road last July.
It's become a popular spot for brunch, coffee and cake; its olive green-tiled counter piled with peanut butter cookies, dark chocolate macaroons and banana bread, and its shelves stacked with sourdough loaves from Levenshulme's Trove.
Owners Jen Smith and Kerry Armstrong quit their respective careers in teaching and law to become bakers, and previously worked together at cafes including And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon in Didsbury and Feed General Store in Heaton Chapel.
"We did our research and [Urmston] seemed to have the right demographic for what we wanted to do - young families, there's a lot of good schools, and it's really well connected so it's an amazing commuter town," says Kerry.
"There's a really lovely community feel in Urmston. We know so many of our customers by name. Some of them come in once a day - sometimes more than once!"
The arrival of Market 41 - scheduled to open towards the end of this year - is expected to accelerate the town's food and drink growth still further.
The new-build development will transform the former outdoor market site on Railway Road, creating a communal dining hall housing around 12 food and drink operators, with an emphasis on local, independent traders.
Altrincham-based developer McGoff Group says it will 'reflect Urmston’s vibrancy and increasing desirability as a great place to live, work and play'.
Speaking when the plans were approved, director Chris McGoff said: "We strategically choose Urmston for Market 41 as the town already has a vibrant and flourishing independent and artisan food and drink scene. Market 41 will simply enhance this further."
Businesses in the town hope he's right.
Back at El Camino, Sean says: "Everyone reminisces about the way things were but it's a huge investment for the people who are building the market. There was no investment in the old market. It's a great thing, [Market 41] coming, because we can see the knock on effect on our own businesses.
"The people who are happy at the new things that are happening aren't rejoicing at the old things that have gone away but we would rather those spaces be filled with modern, vibrant businesses that are pulling people in than be empty shops. It's always sad when somewhere closes but it's sadder if it's then empty for two years."
He adds: "I think what Urmston needs is for people to recognise it as a place you can go for a night out. People probably see Didsbury and Chorlton as a full night out. Hopefully what the market will do is attract people from a bit further away.
"If the market works it'll have a positive effect on the rest of the town, especially the night time economy."
