Manly’s most special stores

Report by Laura B.

Attik

Manly has the character of a small town even though it is only a suburb of Sydney. In regard to shopping, at first sight Manly has nothing special to offer despite the ordinary retail store chains on the main street. But if you take a closer look and walk through the side streets you can discover some really unique stores. Here are my five personal favourites:
Attik (1-3 Sydney Road) is my favourite clothing shop in Manly. It is a very colourful shop with interesting styles of fashion. It is a family business with 3 more stores around Sydney. They sell different brands and the assortment is carefully composed. The store gets new articles delivered twice a week and offers just a few sizes per item. Due to the limitation of stock there is a huge variety of different clothes but items are sold out very fast as well.

Andy’s Book Shop

Andy’s Book Shop (1/27 Sydney Road) is a small book shop which offers second hand books as well as new editions. It has this special bookstore atmosphere and the sales lady fits perfectly in this lovely and cosy shop. Even new books are a lot cheaper than in ordinary book stores. Moreover, this shop has a very special concept: besides the actual price there is a trade-back-price stated on every book. So if you finished reading the book you can resell it in the store for the trade-back-price.
Lifeline Nothern (46 Sydney Road) is a vintage store that is based on the concept of charity and volunteering. All clothes they sell are donations; the whole staff works on a voluntary basis and the income is donated to Crises Management Services. They are also involved in crisis support and offer several services to assist welfare.

The Brezel Bar

The Brezel Bar (5a Raglan Street) is a German Bakery and Patisserie. It opened 15 months ago by a German couple. The Brezel Bar offers traditional German bread freshly baked in the store. It is not only a bakery but also a café and a good place for sitting down and enjoying your coffee.
The Manly Market Place runs a market on Sydney Road and in front of the library every Saturday and Sunday from 10.00am to 5.00pm. I have to admit, this is not really a store, but nevertheless it is definitely worth being included in this list. The stalls offer everything from fashion to farming products and everything is locally produced or handmade. Here you can find unique gifts and try tasty food such as for example bread, popcorn or Turkish sweets.