Take 2 is the latest casualty for Bold Street, which has been seeing a high turnover of businesses in recent years
22:08, 18 Oct 2025Updated 22:11, 18 Oct 2025
Bold Street, Liverpool(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
A Bold Street clothing shop which has raised money for one of Britain’s oldest and most successful charities for more than a decade is about to close. The Take 2 charity shop, in aid of Barnardo’s, will shut down early next month.
A sign posted to the door of the shop, which is located in between the Utility gift shop and So Salsa restaurant, reads: “Store closing. This store will be closing on 7th November 2025.” Shoppers are invited to find their nearest store or make a pre-loved donation on the Barnardo’s website.
The closure of Take 2, which has existed on Bold Street for more than a decade, means the nearest Barnardo’s shops will be on Great Homer Street, Prescot Road in Old Swan, and Wavertree Road in Wavertree Retail Park.
Further signs in the charity shop’s windows read “Clearance on selected items” and “All donated goods £2”. Money raised goes towards supporting the Barnardo’s charity, a 150-year-old institution providing support and services to vulnerable children, young people, and their families across the UK.
Take 2 on Bold Street is closing down(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Take 2 was once the next-door neighbour of beloved fancy dress shop Smiffys, whose bright red doors opened on Bold Street for more than 20 years. The 130-year-old business shut down its Bold Street branch in November last year after going into administration due to “a huge drop in demand for costume and party products.”
Opportunities for high street shopping have diminished on Bold Street over the years, with the recent closure one of the street’s original “fab four” stores, Ellis Brigham, which first opened in 1964.
Proposals were quickly submitted to transform the former mountain clothing shop into the Coco Brazil Rodizio Bar & Grill, while Smiffys, which shut down in November 2024, was replaced by family-run tapas bar So Salsa.
The old Rennies Art Gallery closed in 2022, marking the end of a three-decade era. The picturesque building, beside the Route One skate shop, was transformed into an Italian pizza restaurant, Franco Manca, in November last year.
More recently, the “beating heart” of Bold Street, Leaf, closed down on September 21 after 15 years in the city centre.
The street recently saw the addition of the Tokyo-inspired underground “listening bar” Suono and Joe & The Juice. House of Caesar, a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurant, is due to open this month following a £300,000 refurbishment.
The Coco Brazil Rodizio Bar & Grill, replacing Ellis Brigham, opened on October 13 following a £350k renovation. General manager Mo Niazi told the ECHO: “It’s going to be vibrant and alive and fresh. With events and live music nights it will become the restaurant people will go to not just to eat, but to mingle and dance, and have an amazing time.
“It’s going to bring a bigger buzz than ever to Bold Street – and the dazzling interior we’ve created will be the perfect go-to for all those selfies and social media posts.”