Clubbing memories triggered by city's new Lidl

2 hours ago

Lee BottomleyStoke-on-Trent

Lidl said its new store off Cobridge Road, Stoke-on-Trent would initially create around 25 jobs

BBC A grey and white supermarket building, with an empty car park in the foreground and a large blue, red and yellow Lidl sign on the store — Lidl said its new store off Cobridge Road, Stoke-on-Trent would initially create around 25 jobs

The seventh Lidl supermarket opens on Thursday in Stoke-on-Trent but its opening is more than about shopping for many night-time revellers of the past in the city.

The site used to be home to a popular venue, Evergreens, described as "almost like a small nightclub".

"The atmosphere used to be amazing and absolutely packed," recalled DJ Mark 'Daba' Davis.

The pub was at its peak in the 1980s and 1990s, but after its closure, the site off Cobridge Road lay derelict for years.

A flyer for a night at Evergreens in 1991

Mich Elle A poster says 'Jeans Means Evergreens, definitely no varieties!' Sounds sorted, Lights sorted — A flyer for a night at Evergreens in 1991

"It was a bit like a Tardis in a way, it was bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside," Davis said, recalling the venue's heydays.

"A lot of people drove there, and it would be hard to get a space on the car park", he added.

Evergreens was one of a number of night-time venues in Stoke-on-Trent that were popular, despite not being in town centres.

One downside was that Evergreens used to have a sound limiter on the mixing desk, after noise complaints from neighbours.

"If you weren't careful when mixing records in, if the volume got too loud, unfortunately the volume would go down for quite a period of time!", he recalled.

Mark 'Daba' Davis started out DJing at Evergreens on a Monday night

After it closed, Davis said he used to drive past the derelict site, wondering whether someone would bring it back to life, and did daydream that if he won the lottery he would reopen it.

"But you have to be a realist", the house DJ said, pointing out how the night-time economy has changed, especially in Stoke-on-Trent.

And although the venue had gone, at least the land was no longer empty, he said.

"It's now got something on there that's going to attract people into it and be busy again, even though it's a supermarket."

Dominic Bryan, Regional Head of Property for Lidl GB, commented: "We are thrilled to officially open our seventh store in Stoke-on-Trent. This fantastic new store is a direct response to the local demand for high-quality, affordable groceries, and we couldn't be prouder to welcome the community inside."