A historic square has welcomed a boom in new hospitality businesses
Rise Breakfast & Brunch restaurant at Exchange Flags: Jack Swire, Connor Wynn and Leigh Norton(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Indian restaurant Dishoom is bringing its Permit Room sister concept to the city centre. The forthcoming arrival has already generated huge interest, and with its site locked at Exchange Court, it will be the latest new arrivals for a rather underappreciated zone of the city.
The all day bar-café is inspired by the post-prohibition bars in India and will be the company’s first foray into Liverpool. With such close proximity to Exchange Flags, its more or less a new resident.
Exchange Flags played an important part in the city’s history as the original trading site for merchants, including slave traders, who carried out their business there.
Today the historic square sits at the heart of the business district and is largely home to offices and a handful of restaurants.
There’s even an outdoor bar in a shipping container serving cold drinks no matter the weather.
It’s usually surrounded by customers during the summer who take up a seat at the nearby benches. Exchange Flags has undergone something of a boom lately with a number of new residents moving in.
Arta’s Flowers, named after owner Arta Llabjani, opened its doors on Lark Lane in September 2021. Now Arta has expanded her small business into the heart of Liverpool’s corporate world, opening her second shop in the famous Exchange Flags, off Tithebarn Street.
She said: “Most of the time when people come in, it’s for a happy occasion, so there’s always something to celebrate. That’s always my favourite thing. People always ask me what flowers I like, and it’s always hard to pick just one because there’s so many.”
After three successful years, the plan to expand Arta’s Flowers began in early 2024 when a tailors shop in Exchange Flags was advertised to let.
Arta’s Flowers owner Arta Llabjani and florist Abbie Phillps at the newly-opened shop in Exchange Flags, Liverpool
Arta said: “I was just walking by when I saw it and I thought it was beautiful. There was a sign saying to let and I called them right away. Before I knew it they called me back and said ‘you would be an amazing attraction for the business district’, because there isn’t a flower shop around here, and they wanted to support something independent as well.
“Being a small shop, I have been doing most of the setting up myself. I’m a bit impulsive like that. If I see a good opportunity, I just go for it. It’s definitely very exciting. We have been saying how lovely everybody has been.
“We’ve had great footfall. Castle Street has a lot of restaurants, so we’ve had a lot of business owners coming into see us. We’ve even had them send bottles of alcohol for us to celebrate.”
She added: “I’m still very much proud of the Lark Lane shop. Lark Lane is something I would never let go because it’s a very lovely community and I live there. But I wanted to bring more independent shops in the town.”
Rise became an overnight sensation(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
In 2019, Rise brunch opened in Preston and became an overnight sensation with customers lining the streets for a social natter over coffee.
Rise snowballed in success with two more sites popping up in Preston and York, specialising solely in coffee for on those on the go. The fourth most recent site opened in June at Exchange Flags for their biggest undertaking yet.
Owner Leigh Norton, who is originally from Liverpool, said: “We almost opened on Bold Street. We were looking at the unit where BamBoo is now but thought it was too small.
“When we look for a venue, it’s like buying a house. You won’t buy a house if you think it’s too big or too small, you need good neighbours, you want a nice neighbourhood, otherwise you won’t move in.
“We were nervous about Exchange Flags because it’s a little out of the way but we loved the venue.”
Tapas restaurant El Gato Negro may have left the square last year, but the space didn’t stay vacant for long. Mills Dill Development, the team behind the sister concept Black Cat Club – a cocktail bar featuring shuffleboard, live sports and full food menu – opened the venue in May, giving people yet another reason to visit the area.
Black Cat Club(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
That corner of Exchange Flags has now switched from a laid back restaurant to a lively venue with music filling the streets long before you step near its doors. You’ll typically see it flooded with guests just after work and staying through the evening.
The oldest entertainment resident of Exchange Flags is Fazenda Rodizio Bar and Grill – and it’s not going anywhere. Opened in 2013, the Brazilian restaurant opened with a star-studded launch party and still manages to pull customers from all over the city despite owning a sister site on Bold Street.
Managing director Tomas Maunier previously said: “When we were looking for sites in Liverpool, we fell in love with that square and that building and all the history it has.
“But then another agent showed us a different site which was a little bit closer to Albert Dock. Obviously Albert Dock was very busy, Exchange Flags wasn’t, and we still chose go to Exchange Flags.
Fazenda Rodizio Bar and Grill opened in 2013(Image: Press handout)
“We’ve always believed that Exchange Flags has the potential to become an important area of the city. In general we’ve been successful.
Tomas added: “It still feels like it’s an area that has a lot more to give. I compare it to other cities we’ve got restaurants in – Manchester or even Leeds and there’s more people living in the city centre there.
“It’s all to do with the vision beforehand of what the city requires, needs and wants and that’s why I believe the area has not been what it could. There’s some beautiful buildings around there – it’s a beautiful space.”