SOMETHING different has come to Ashton-under-Lyne’s town centre – just one look at The Nico Ditch proves that.
And owners Tom Hughes and Dean Brocklehurst believe it can be the start of something big, something for its art crowd.
They feel the opening of their new bar on Old Street, close to the Indoor Market and also accessible from Bow Street, can be the spark that lights a wave of creativity and encourage a scene to develop.
They have already had success elsewhere after setting up The Talleyrand in Levenshulme.
Tom said after converting what was Holloway’s leather goods shop: “We’ve seen Ashton for a while as a place where there may be a little bit of a shortfall in a certain type of culture and hospitality provided where we think it’ll be wanted and valued.
“Ashton has been presented as this rundown place. We don’t really see it as that. We think that’s a false perception.
“Admittedly, there have been one or two problems in the town centre but show me a town centre that hasn’t had them.
“It’s got so much going for it like incredible architecture and there are so many people who live in the immediate vicinity – we just think there’s a massive untapped well of creativity and goodwill.
“People will want to come and have good quality drinks and vibes.”
Dean, who lives in Ashton, added: “The perception frustrates us. People online in particular just criticise everything. ‘I don’t like this or that. You should never do anything in Ashton because it’s a s***hole. It’s a lost cause.’
“Actually, if you spend a lot of time here – we’ve developed this pretty much on our own – you get to see the town centre in all its glory.
“And you see the little gems that are hidden down back streets – the nice cafes, the couple of nice bars that are here already, there are nice places where you can get something different.
“A lot of that kind of stuff is here. It’s just that if you’re passing through to get the bus, you just see the deprivation side.”
Tom and Dean have certainly set out their art and creative ambitions early. Already, The Nico Ditch held the Icons exhibition by artist John Haughey, including an image of The Fall frontman Mark E Smith hovering over the stairs.
Its draft beer selection has a local nod, with Ashton’s Juggernaut lining up alongside ones from Manchester, London, Bavaria and Dublin.
A high-standard cocktail menu is also being launched while charcuterie boards and quality coffee are served and hopes are high The Nico Ditch can rise above the rest.
Tom added: “People said, ‘You can’t put a new music bar in Levenshulme in this day and age. It’s a residential suburb.’
“But we just tested what works and let it evolve into what it needs to be for the community.
“In Levenshulme, we’ve benefitted from going against perceptions.”
Dean also spelled out how they are willing to listen, saying: “We’re quite proud. We feel like we supported that community in terms of our side – hospitality – to grown to what it is now.
“A lot of what we do there comes from people messaging us with ideas. We hope to have the same thing here.”
Think of Ashton and many names come up, but Nico Ditch is not one of the first. More people are likely to relate Nico to the singer, who lived in Manchester.
However, it is more part of the town than many would expect, hence the title.
Dean, who worked alongside Tom at Manchester’s Home, told The Correspondent: “We like to create a space that has an identity within the area. In Levenshulme, the Talleyrand is named after a guy who was going around France with Napoleon as his right-hand man, but he reputedly lived in the area.
“And the Nico Ditch is a historic earthwork that’s about 1,000 years old.
“Not many people know about it, but it started at Ashton Moss and went right through to Stretford. The Nico part of Nico Ditch was spun off from a Saxon water-dwelling spirit.”
Tom explained: “The size of it is mindboggling – more Mancunians should know about it.
“It’s like Hadrian’s Wall, except it’s dug out instead of built up. It features in the Magna Carta and historians believe it was against Viking invasion.
“We thought it was fascinating story.”
The Nico Ditch, at 52, Old Street in Ashton, is open on Wednesday and Thursday from 3pm until 11pm, from 3pm until midnight on Friday, noon until midnight on Saturday and from 2pm until 10pm on Sunday.
It can be found online at www.instagram.com/thenicoditch/ and www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558778250817. It can be contacted by emailing thenicoditch@gmail.com.
