Grand Arcade

The Grand Arcade is a lovely little shopping area in Leeds, albeit a much overlooked one. Since the location of the Grand Arcade is a little towards the edge of town it sadly receives less traffic than some of the more affluent areas in the city centre, but this appears to have given the shop owners here a licence to get creative with their outlets, since it’s a less mainstream area!
One of my favourite shops, UpStaged Vintage, resides within the Grand Arcade. It’s a fantastic vintage boutique with a specialist burlesque corset room upstairs and it is one of the premier places to find indie vintage items in Leeds. Other quirky places in the Grand Arcade include Roots and Fruits (a vegetarian café) and also Santiago at the very end, which is an excellent bar that plays host to all kinds of great live music events. All in all it’s certainly worth wandering through and checking out if you’ve not been before, definitely give it a look in!

The Grand Arcade is a beautifully light and airy arcade with a high glass roof. Over a century old the interior is lovingly designed and full of character. There are large banners proudly emblazoned with the name of the arcade hanging from the rafters. However, the arcade appears slightly deserted with a majority of empty shops. What a shame! It is such a lovely space with so much potential!
It is, however, home to the highly recommended vegetarian café Roots and Fruits and the top notch vintage shop Upstaged Vintage. There is also a rather charming trophy shop for all your trophy-​related needs!
Due to shamefully not having frequented the Grand Arcade enough in the past, I’m not sure exactly when its decline in shop numbers began, or why… maybe the recession? Though I do know it’s a great shame and hope that the arcade manages to rebuild the popularity it deserves!