Marks and Spencer set up the first-ever shop that customers could browse in here in Manchester in 1894.
Michael Marks and Tom Spencer swung open the doors to one of their new walk-in stores at 20 Cheetham Hill Road with the slogans 'Don't ask the price, it's a penny' and 'Free Admission' - encouraging customers to browse without any obligation to buy - a brand new concept for the time.
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The new Manchester Jewish Museum, which opens for the first time in two years on Friday, is showcasing the hundreds of stories of 'ordinary' Jewish Mancunians doing 'extraordinary' things.
One story, of a woman affectionately known as 'Henny', is recalled by a man named Larry.
Written on plaques in the new museum, Larry speaks about the 'nice old woman' who had arrived in Manchester from Russia and set up a shop on Lord Street to sell broken eggs discarded by other shops.
She would crack them open into a bowl and her neighbours would come along and scoop out 'about 12' for a tuppence or thurppence.
The museum, which took almost 10 years to plan and build, tells the story of Jewish people and communities in our area.
Downstairs the in-house library, usually closed off to the public, has 31,000 items in the collection including a time capsule found in the foundations of the museum by builders working on the site.
The capsule will be opened at an event later this year but is thought to have preserved meeting minutes and newspaper cuttings from 1873.
Next door, the museum's 1874 Grade II listed Synagogue building - the oldest in the city - has also been fully renovated and restored with a £6million budget from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the CEO Max Dunbar said: "We had a brief, this was not about saying let's make a Jewish museum - it was about saying let's make a Manchester Jewish Museum.
"I always wanted it to feel like home.
"It is extraordinary stories about everyday people who come to Manchester to do incredible things."
Mr Dunbar added: "Creating a new and accessible entrance and launching a brand new vegetarian cafe were both key to making sure that everyone regardless of faith, background or culture would feel genuinely welcome to experience the museum in its entirety.
"We are so proud of our results and we cannot wait for everyone to come through the doors on Friday."
Architect Katy Marks explained that the delicate listed building had to be extensively revamped to make it work on the street - which is full of 'bright blue buildings and builders merchants'.
She also said a lot of thought was put into the downstairs cafe area so that people arriving at the museum would be hit with warm smells of coffee and sweet treats, feeling like 'home'.
Manchester Jewish Museum is open seven days a week to the public from Friday (July 2). The kosher-style cafe is open from 10am until 4pm daily and will be open later on Thursdays for its Thursday Lates programme of events in the autumn.
