After serving the local community for more than two decades, this beloved former corner shop in Salford is now up for sale.
And it could be yours for just £2.
Sharon and Stuart’s Kandy Kabin – which was once an old fashioned sweet shop that doubled as community hub on Langworthy Road and served the people of Salford for 26 years – is said to be worth in the region of £175,000, but the owners have chosen the unique method of raffling the commercial premises, with tickets costing a mere £2 each and all legal fees covered.
The family-run corner shop was owned by Stuart and Sharon Smyth, who both sadly died in 2012 and 2018 respectively.
The store closed in 2016 after Sharon started chemotherapy.
Stuart passed away aged 49, and Sharon was 50 when she lost her battle with esophageal cancer, leaving the business in the hands of their two children Alex and Tom.
Speaking to the MEN on their decision to raffle off the business, the couple’s daughter Alex, 36, said: “My mum and dad owned the property for 28 years, and in 2018 we lost her to cancer. The shop was like her baby [and] my mum has served so many people in the community,
“The laughing joke was once you entered Sharon’s store, you’d never leave because she kept you talking – It was so much more than your average corner shop.
“Everyone loved it and has so many fond memories of it.”
Alex and Tom – who have been trying to sell the property for years – are not able to take over the family business due to personal commitments and families of their own, and so have made the decision to raffle the property – a method of selling which has become popular during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“It’s been on the market a while,” Alex added.
“We’ve had six offers fall through and banks aren’t borrowing for commercial mortgages.
“I think some people thought I’d take it on, but I have a young family and already run a business of my own [so] the shop would be a massive commitment.
“I watched a house raffle that happened in Manchester and after watching how successful they’ve been, we figured that we’ve got something additional to offer with the commercial property.”
Selling the property on popular website / app Raffall, the business is described as: “An ideally located commercial shop front with a three bedroom property to the rear and the first floor. To the ground there is a shop front, lounge and modern kitchen, and to the first floor are three bedrooms and a family bathroom.
“Located very close to Salford Quay/Media City and excellent transport routes into Manchester City Centre.”
With the raffle closing on Saturday 1st January 2022 at 3:30pm (or when the last ticket is sold – whichever is sooner, Alex and Tom hope the lucky winner will be a fellow business owner who can continue serving the community.
“We want anyone that could make it a success for themselves,” Alex said.
“My mum and dad had so much success over the years, so we’d like to see somebody else continue that.”
You can grab your £2 tickets here, and follow the along Kandy Kabin Raffle journey on Facebook here.
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Pep Guardiola hints at when Manchester City fans can expect to see their latest arrival
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given supporters a rough timeline as to when they can expect to see their new signing, or at least their latest arrival, make his first appearance.
The Blues wrapped up the January transfer window with four major signings: their new attacking number seven, Omar Marmoush (who has already bagged a hattrick on his home debut) promising defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov and Brazilian Vitor Reis, as well as their ‘mini-Rodri’, Nico Gonzalez.
However, the club has had another late arrival who was technically signed back at the start of last year but who has spent for the last 12 months or so loaned back to his previous parent club, River Plate in Argentina, waiting to make the move over to the Etihad Stadium – and now he’s here in Manchester.
Speaking on his touchdown in 0161, Pep said Claudio Echeverri won’t be thrown into first-team action straight away but did give a rough estimate as to when City fans could expect him to get involved. You can see him discussing the integration plan in his post-match press conference following the Spurs win.
The mention was only brief but there’s still plenty of reason for Man City fans to be excited by the late January signing.
“Yeah, he [Claudio Echeverri] is going to start to train and mainly will be for the end of the season, maybe the [Club] World Cup and as soon as possible [that] he arrives he can adapt quick for the future.”
As mentioned, the 19-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder from Resistencia officially put pen to paper with CFG back in January 2024 and was quickly dubbed ‘the next Messi’.
Now, although the football world is often quick to jump the gun with these things and he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be last to be slapped with this premature title, he’s done more to back up these claims since then than he has rubbish them.
Starring at the 2025 Under-20 South American Championships, netting six goals in nine games to finish the tournament as the second highest scorer thanks to notable braces against Brazil and Uruguay as the young Argentine’s finished as runners up.
He also notched 48 senior appearances for River Plate thus far, netting four goals and grabbing eight assists in that time, not to mention having already captained his national team at the 2023 Under 17s World Cup, where he scored another five.
Safe to say there’s plenty of talent to be tapped in this lad.
Once again, Echeverri won’t go straight into the senior set-up for a little while yet, barring a major injury crisis, but he’ll be a more than exciting addition to the City Football Academy and for future first-team lineups for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be included in an FA Cup matchday squad? Nevertheless, you can expect him to not just come of the bench but hopefully show what he can do at the Club World Cup this summer.
City‘s first fixture as reigning champions of the competition will be against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June 2025.
You can watch Echeverri’s first full interview as a Man City player down below:
The new Man City signing is excited to be finally be part of the club 13 months on from agreeing his contract.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
Emily Sergeant -
11th January 2021 
