A unique shop is planning to move in to the former home of a York bank.
And it looks set to be very eye-catching – with the exterior decorated with clouds and floating pandas.
The shop is called Anime Gallery. It is moving into the former Cooperative Bank building on Feasegate, which has been empty since the branch closed in 2020.
The shop is the brainchild of Maggie Yang, who has run an anime and manga store in Edinburgh called Anime Republic for 11 years.
For those unfamiliar with anime, it is a style of Japanese film and television animation.
Maggie told YorkMix: “We are an anime store, but not a traditional retail one.
“The reason we call ourselves a gallery is because, in addition to selling all products related to anime, we’ve also integrated anime elements into the overall store design.”
As well as selling anime and manga comics and products, the new shop will also offer refreshments.
“On the first floor, we have designed an anime-themed café, where our customers can enjoy anime-inspired coffee and desserts while reading manga or playing card games,” Maggie said.
Depending on how well the shop fitting work goes, Anime Gallery could open from mid November or early December.
Maggie said they would be looking to employ five or six people in the store.
A planning application to change the exterior of the store, with new signage and 3D clouds, has been submitted to City of York Council.
You can read and comment on the plans here.