It’s a chilly Monday evening in April but in the Northern Quarter it feels like a Saturday night in July.
The pubs have reopened and Manchester is determined to make the most of this next step back to normality.
Parts of the city feel like one huge beer garden, and there’s an almost carnival atmosphere as pals meet up for the first time in months, workmates nip out for a drink after their shift, and people enjoy a pint that hasn’t been poured out of a supermarket can.
Outside the bars on Edge Street and Thomas Street, there are long queues for tables that are as rare as hens’ teeth.
In Stevenson Square, a bearded man in a baseball cap bumps into two friends.
"I’ve not seen you in ages," he says as they exchange slightly awkward hugs, not sure if they’re breaking social distancing rules.
Behind them a man in a black puffa jacket gets his phone out.
"Ee are, have a look at this," he tells his mates, before bragging about how he’d redone his bathroom for ‘20 quid’.
They’re the kind of everyday exchanges we took for granted before the pandemic turned the world upside down.
And there’s something heartwarming and life affirming to see them return.
Carl Morris and Laura Morris - no relation - own Yard and Coop on Edge Street.
After a hellish last year, today ‘feels like Christmas Day’, they said.
They opened their doors at noon and were full by five past.
“The last year has been an absolute rollercoaster,” said Carl.
“But today everybody is here to see friends and family and enjoy themselves. For me and Laura it’s seeing the business back, getting staff back to work, chefs in the kitchen.
“We’re a bit overwhelmed to be honest. It’s just great.”
But it’s not quite business as usual just yet.
Of the city centre’s 659 hospitality venues, just 132 opened on Monday.
Another 40 or so are expected to reopen in time for Saturday.
Lacking enough outdoor space to make it worth their while most will have to wait until May, when restrictions on indoor hospitality are lifted, to get going again.
And it’s not just the pubs and restaurants that have felt the pinch during the pandemic.
Sat on the rank at the Piccadilly Gardens, taxi driver Nariman Mohammad tells how some days during lockdown he could go an entire shift without a fare.
It meant the 45-year-old had to take a second job as an Uber Eats delivery driver just to survive.
But today he can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.
“We are hoping things will get better now,” he says.
“That is our wish. I think they will.”
