New businesses come to Wigan's Grand Arcade

The Glasses Club has just moved into the unit previously occupied by The Body Shop, while Grand News is settling into its new home in the kiosk that used to connect WHSmith to the mall.

The former is run by friends and qualified optometrists Hasan Mohamed and Zain Mohamed who are striking out on their own for the first time.

Hasan said: “We have both worked for mutiples and independent businesses but recently said to each other 'why don’t we do this outselves?’

"Wigan has its multiples like Specsavers and Vision Express but very few independent opticians so we are looking forward to adding something new to the town.

"And we have got off to a busy start with 20 people coming in on both of the first two days in business. And one gentleman was sent round by one of the multiples because they didn’t stock Tom Ford glasses and we did!"

There are a lot more comings than goings at the moment in the Grand Arcade with work well under way on the new Stack hospitality and entertainment hub, although Sports Direct is set to close later this week.