{"id":384697,"date":"2025-08-30T08:44:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T08:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/384697\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T08:44:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T08:44:17","slug":"its-more-than-just-a-cafe-closing-its-a-community-and-a-safe-space-being-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/384697\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s more than just a caf\u00e9 closing, it’s a community and a safe space being lost’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The presence of Feel Good Club will certainly be missed\"Adam<\/p>\n

Adam is a senior What’s On and LGBTQ+ reporter for the Manchester Evening News, covering new restaurant and bar openings, food reviews, gig reviews, and issues that matter to the LGBTQ+ community. Adam joined the M.E.N in 2019 as a Facebook Community Reporter and also runs the LGBTQ+ Bulletin newsletter. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe owners behind Feel Good Club have announced they will be closing the venue down in a month(Image: Feel Good Club)<\/p>\n

It might sound a bit dramatic, but it\u2019s hard to put into words what Feel Good Club meant as a venue to the city – but I’ll certainly give it a go.<\/p>\n

Sure, it\u2019s a caf\u00e9, a bar, and an events space – we have a lot of those already. But this spot, on the corner of Hilton Street in the Northern Quarter, was more than just that – and its loss could be significant to so many.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, owners Kiera and Aimee announced they would be closing the venue<\/a> at the end of September after five years saying they had to \u2018accept with heavy hearts that it\u2019s our time\u2019.<\/p>\n

For many, Feel Good Club was a safe space, it was a meeting point, and its void isn\u2019t one that can just be replicated and replaced. For those who regularly visited<\/a>, it was hailed as \u2018one truly safe spot in town\u2019 and \u2018such a welcoming place\u2019.<\/p>\n

Stay connected with our City Life newsletter here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"FeelFeel Good Club in Manchester City Centre(Image: Feel Good Club\/Instagram: @visitfeelgoodclub)<\/p>\n

Since first opening, it has hosted a range of varied events, club nights, markets, thrift pop-ups, and meet-ups, ranging from burlesque and extravagance from Miss Chief Cabaret, queer brown brilliance with the House of Spice, and fundraisers for the trans community and Palestine.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been there for brunches, for games nights, for post-work drinks, for hungover lunches after post-work drinks, and been there just to grab a coffee and chill with a book. It also happens to have a nice little spot outside for the occasional bit of sunshine too.<\/p>\n

But the venue has also been a stomping ground for new performers, comedians, drag queens, singers, and writers, and has also hosted community groups, workshops, run clubs, and other gatherings. Perhaps equally as important, it also served potato smilies.<\/p>\n

Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n

Because of this, it was seen as a place where members of the LGBTQ+ community could come together and feel seen outside of the Gay Village. Whilst the Village has its own history and importance, being visible away from areas like that are equally vital and still quite hard to come by.<\/p>\n

In fact, if anyone ever asked me for a safe and welcoming space outside of the Gay Village, Feel Good Club was always at the top of my list of recommendations. Inside Feel Good Club, you\u2019d meet groups of people who were openly themselves, accepted, and embraced.<\/p>\n

And, in all honesty, it\u2019s something that isn\u2019t possible today in some of the other venues just yards away. Like I said about this year\u2019s Manchester Pride,<\/a> the trans, non-binary and intersex community are under attack right now.<\/p>\n

\"OwnersOwners of Feel Good Club Aimee Skillen and Kiera Lawlor(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

The agenda targeted towards these communities is so toxic and pointed that I can imagine it\u2019s hard not to constantly feel like you\u2019re under scrutiny – even just for walking down a street, or going into a venue.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why venues like Feel Good Club often tend to be rare and hard to come by. This is another hurt for the community to bear, but it is also a reminder that places outside of the Village can, and should, embrace everybody.<\/p>\n

We shouldn\u2019t have to feel hidden away, or confined to one area, in order to be able to embrace ourselves without judgement. With the toxicity surrounding the world today, more venues in Manchester should try to be more like Feel Good Club.<\/p>\n

Sign up to the LGBTQ+ Bulletin newsletter HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"FeelFeel Good Club will be closing its doors at the end of September after five years<\/p>\n

Of course, there are still some amazing and inclusive venues doing great things. It wasn\u2019t just confined to Feel Good Club. There\u2019s Fairfield Social Club, there’s Afflecks Palace and there’s HOME, whilst the likes of Freight Island, Depot and Warehouse Project also look after the trans and non-binary community with their events and policies too.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, one trans person told the Manchester Evening News that all they wanted to do<\/a> was \u2018to exist, be loved, and not have to fight the system to be recognised’. And, whilst it may seem trivial to some, having a place where people could drop the mask and not feel under constant scrutiny can do wonders in helping them feel like they exist. Even if it\u2019s just for half an hour whilst having a coffee.<\/p>\n

If Pride this past weekend has shown us, it\u2019s important to turn up and support one another. We need to support the venues that are important to us, to others and to this city, because otherwise, we just won\u2019t have them anymore. And on a separate, wider note, we also need to be kicking up a fuss about the sky-high business rates that are leading to closures of some of our most loved venues across the country.<\/p>\n

We still have a month before Feel Good Club closes its doors, so feel free to pop in and spend some time there if you can!<\/p>\n

Join our Manc Life WhatsApp group HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The presence of Feel Good Club will certainly be missed Adam is a senior What’s On and LGBTQ+…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,5763,2465,18960,8827,9158,19957,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-384697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-lgbtq","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-manchester-bars","14":"tag-manchester-cafes","15":"tag-northern-quarter","16":"tag-transgender-community","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115116839259084089","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}