What Night & Day Cafe does

Night & Day Cafe is a privately held, family-owned grassroots music venue and bar that has operated continuously since 1991 at 26 Oldham Street in Manchester's Northern Quarter. The venue operates as a multi-format cultural hub combining ticketed live music performances across rock, ska, country-punk, electronic, soul and disco genres with weekly DJ nights (notably the Saturday LOOSE JOINTS residency), regular visual art exhibitions, full bar service, and the Big Mouth in-house food project serving weekend breakfasts and Neapolitan-style sourdough pizza. It targets two primary customer segments: music and arts enthusiasts attending events, and emerging independent artists and bands seeking early-to-mid career performance opportunities; secondary segments include F&B customers and the local visual art community.

The venue has no proprietary technology stack beyond a standard website (nightnday.org), Instagram presence, email newsletter, and online merchandise storefront on Big Cartel. Ticketing is outsourced to four third-party platforms (See Tickets, Skiddle, Alt Tickets, Piccadilly Records). Revenue is generated through four streams: live event ticketing, food and beverage sales (under the Big Mouth brand), merchandise (t-shirts, tote bags sold at the bar and online), and private venue hire and band bookings via [email protected]. Pricing is unit-based, with event tickets typically £5-£30 (some free entry), breakfast items £7-£9.50, and pizzas £7-£12.

From November 2021 onward the business has been engaged in an ongoing legal defence against a Noise Abatement Notice served by Manchester City Council following a complaint from an adjacent residential conversion. The venue has appealed through Manchester Crown Court and Manchester Magistrates Court (with a March 2023 hearing), mobilising over 98,000 petition signatures and support from artists including Tim Burgess, Liam Fray, Jane Weaver, and Jeremy Pritchard. The venue was also shortlisted for the Music Week Grassroots Venue 2023 award. There are no institutional investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity on record; Jennifer Smithson is identified as the business owner with Ben Smithson acting as spokesperson.

Name

Night & Day Cafe

Legal name

Night & Day Cafe

Website

https://nightnday.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Night & Day Cafe is a family-owned grassroots live music venue and bar in Manchester's Northern Quarter, operating since 1991. It combines ticketed live music, weekly DJ nights (LOOSE JOINTS), art exhibitions, the Big Mouth food project, and bar service for music enthusiasts and emerging independent artists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Venue

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Food Services and Drinking Places (722)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Nightclubs & Dance Clubs (THAFAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nightlife Events & Club Tickets (THAJAFAK)

Keywords

• Live music venue
• Grassroots music events
• Concert ticketing services
• Pizzeria restaurant
• Art exhibition space

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Live Events & Ticketing: Revenue from ticket sales for gigs, club nights, and special events. Ticketing handled through third-party platforms including See Tickets, Skiddle, Alt Tickets, and Piccadilly Records. Some events offer free entry with revenue generated through drink sales.
2. Food & Beverage: Revenue from food sales including breakfast service (weekends 10am-2pm) featuring full English, veggie options, eggs benedict; and pizza service (from 2pm) featuring Neapolitan-style sourdough pizzas. Drinks include alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Big Mouth is the in-house food brand.
3. Merchandise: Sale of venue merchandise including t-shirts and tote bags, sold directly at the bar and through online Big Cartel store (nightandday.bigcartel.com).
4. Venue Hire: Venue available for private hire and band bookings. Contact through [email protected].

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Night & Day Cafe is a single-location grassroots live music venue and bar in Manchester's Northern Quarter. The venue hosts ticketed live music performances across multiple genres, weekly DJ club nights (LOOSE JOINTS), rotating art exhibitions in the bar, and food service through its in-house Big Mouth project (weekend breakfasts and Neapolitan-style sourdough pizza from 2pm). The venue also generates revenue from bar sales, merchandise, and private venue hire.

Product overview

Night & Day Cafe is a single-location music venue and bar in Manchester's Northern Quarter offering a unified hospitality experience. The venue combines live music events, DJ nights (including the weekly LOOSE JOINTS club night), art exhibitions, and food service through its Big Mouth pizza and breakfast project. No platform or modular product architecture exists - this is a single physical venue with multiple service offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Big Mouth

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Piccadilly RecordscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerManchester-based independent record label that presents and promotes artists at Night & Day Cafe. Co-promotes events such as Anthony Szmierek album launches. Piccadilly Records is described as a key independent music retailer with strong ties to the venue's programming.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Soup Kitchen: Manchester Northern Quarter venue combining live music, DJ events, and food service. Operates a near-identical hybrid format (gigs, club nights, kitchen) in the same neighborhood as Night & Day Cafe.
• The Trades Club: Long-running independent grassroots music venue in Hebden Bridge hosting emerging and established artists. Similar community-driven, multi-format (live music, bar, occasional food) operating model to Night & Day Cafe.
• Band on the Wall: Manchester-based grassroots live music venue in the Northern Quarter serving a similar artist and audience profile. Directly comparable in format (live gigs, DJ nights, bar, food) and customer base to Night & Day Cafe.
• Brudenell Social Club: Iconic Leeds grassroots music venue offering live music across genres, DJ events, bar service, and venue hire. Closely comparable to Night & Day in operating model, scale, and role in the UK independent music ecosystem.
• Bush Hall: West London independent music venue hosting live gigs and club nights in a heritage space. Comparable format and target audience to Night & Day, particularly for emerging and mid-career touring artists.
• The Lexington: London grassroots music venue and bar hosting live performances and club nights. Comparable scale, format, and positioning in the independent live music circuit as Night & Day Cafe.

Regional players

• Matt & Phred's: Manchester-based live music venue specializing in jazz, soul, funk, and blues with bar service. Comparable city and similar live-music-and-drinks model, though narrower genre focus than Night & Day's broader programming.

Others

• Piccadilly Records: Manchester independent record label and retailer that co-promotes events at Night & Day Cafe. Functions as a programming partner and is therefore a directly relevant ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.
• Night & Day Cities (Music Venue Trust): UK non-profit advocacy body supporting grassroots music venues including Night & Day. Not a competitor but a key ecosystem participant influencing policy, funding, and industry support relevant to the venue's operating environment.

Broad incumbents

• The 100 Club: Historic London live music venue with decades of legacy in the UK grassroots scene. Broader incumbent playing a comparable cultural role to Night & Day but with significantly longer heritage and higher profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/nightanddaycafe
• Xx.com/nightanddaycafe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Night & Day Cafe