The ECHO takes a look at the region’s cafe culture after a series of venues shut down
Stanhope Coffee found in the Baltic Triangle(Image: Andrew Teebay)
Café owners across Merseyside have expressed how they are in the midst of “the most difficult times”. Liverpool isn’t a place that does things by halves, and this is certainly true of the city’s food offerings. Whether you’re after a quick cuppa, a scrumptious cake, or even a board game, the city has got you covered.
While some double up as art galleries, others transform with live music as the sun sets. A quick Google search and you’ll see there are more cafes than you can shake a stick at in Liverpool alone, never mind the wider region.
But recently an alarming number of cafes have closed for the final time, citing a variety of reasons. But it isn’t all bad news, and if there was ever a city to power through the current climate, it is Liverpool. Several new businesses have popped up in the area, and longstanding cult-favourites continue to thrive and expand.
With this in mind, the ECHO has taken a look at the region’s café culture and whether it is at a crisis point, or whether hope remains.
End of an area
The ECHO recently covered the story of the Baltic Triangle’s Coffee & Fandisha, which was forced to shut its doors after an “exhaustion” situation.
The Brick Street venue, run by Kim, originally from Ethiopia, and Keeley, was once named among the best in the UK. It was a go-to for many in the area, largely thanks to its fresh-baked goods and dedication to Ethiopia’s traditional coffee ceremony.
However, this is no longer the case, as the brand remains closed due to an “ongoing legal matter.” In addition to the shuttering of this Baltic Triangle venue, the city saw further café closures in July.
Hamilton House, the former site of Neighbourhood Cafe on Woolton Road(Image: Liverpool Echo)
It was said that the closure of Neighbourhood Café, a “special place filled with memories” located on Woolton Road, marked the “end of an era.” Whereas similar devastation was felt, particularly among members of the Wirral’s Indian community, when Chaii Coffee, located on Woodchurch in Prenton, shut with “immediate effect”.
A quaint café nestled among the imposing buildings of the city’s business district had a similar fate. A Small Fish in a Big Pond was tucked away on Water Street, behind a little black door and down steps to the lower ground floor level of Oriel Chambers. The café called this space home for the last seven years but stopped trading on Friday, July 18.
Same old story
Simon Thompson opened Cafe Baggio on School Lane in April. The 41-year-old is no stranger to the industry, having previously owned Present Company in the same space.
He decided to close the award-winning cocktail bar on New Year’s Eve 2024 and give the premises a new life a few months later as a football-themed venue. Named after Italian football icon Roberto Baggio, images of legendary players such as Ronaldo Nazario were dotted around the bar, which prided itself on being a place “for football romantics, by football romantics”.
Cafe Baggio on School Lane owner Simon Thompson.(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Staff were encouraged to wear football shirts under their aprons, and scarves and flags from various teams adorned the walls. However, Simon told the ECHO, it’s the “same old story” for all hospitality businesses “at this point”, not just cafes.
He said: “I’m sure everyone has heard it before – especially in the last few months. Costs and prices aren’t what they once were, and footfall in the area isn’t either. It just meant the business wasn’t really workable anymore.
“We only opened a few months ago, but I’ve been in that unit for six years with my cocktail bar. It’s unfortunate we are hearing the same story with so many businesses, really.
Shutters down on Cafe Baggio in Liverpool city centre
“I want to see as many hospitality businesses thrive as possible, but it’s a tough environment for everyone at the moment. Costs are rising across the board, and sales in the city centre aren’t as strong as they were a few years ago.”
“I hope businesses don’t go in the same direction as Cafe Baggio, but we have seen it a lot recently. It’s a sad time, but I had six great years, making some great friends and memories with wonderful times, so I’m not going to dwell on the sadness of it.”
Strength to strength
However, while many venues across the city are closing, others are going from strength to strength. Gareth Dyer, from St Helens, and landlord-turned-friend Paul Vernon are two men who know what it takes to thrive in the industry. The pair are best known for being the brains behind two of the city’s most-loved coffee shops.
They welcomed the first customers through the doors of Lord Street’s The Rococo Coffee House in 2008. Since then, the picturesque venue, located on the top two floors of the corner of Dorans Lane, has made great strides in establishing its loyal customer base.
The coffee house’s success has enabled the two friends to expand with Café Lucaya, a sister site on Water Street from 2018, and, more recently, Stanhope Coffee, on the street of the same name in the Baltic Triangle. Gareth explained how the team believed they weren’t going to be able “to survive”, especially after their initial take-home of £63.
Stanhope Coffe opens with Silvia Glazik(Manager)centre,Colin Harris-Day & Maisie Blake(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Fast-forward to today, and the two have continued to defy a difficult industry climate as Gareth spoke to the ECHO from the brand-new location. However, the 42-year-old isn’t naïve to the current climate.
He said: “It’s the most difficult time we have ever come across, if I’m being honest. The pandemic and Covid were hard, but nothing compared to now. The cost pressures the hospitality industry is facing at the moment are really high, particularly with the National Insurance increases and the contribution businesses now need to pay.
“It is really hitting home hard. Effectively, we are quite a low-paying industry, but the government pushed up the national minimum wage by 10 and 16% but dropped the threshold of national insurance.
Stanhope Coffee.(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
“So, it has kind of in a way, tripled our contributions as a business. This is all alongside business rates and ever-increasing food costs. Every cost just seems to keep going up and up. We already had the warehouse, an empty space as such. We were already roasting there, but we were already in the process of creating the coffee house before these extra cost pressures came about.
“It was either we stopped and stopped employing people or we gave it a go because we’ve already got it started. Ultimately, we decided to continue with things because we already had invested; otherwise, it would have been a pure waste.
“It’s really fulfilling to see the reaction. Hospitality is really tough, particularly in the environment right now. So to have so much local support in an instant made it all worthwhile.”
Next big thing
Cafe team members Chloe, Lily, Rosie and Charlotte at John Lewis(Image: Andrew Teebay)
A series of new cafes are also preparing to open their doors. Chill-O on Renshaw Street has signage up in the space that was occupied by Damas Mediterranean Kitchen.
A 10-minute walk from there and Hey Tea, a Chinese-inspired brand that started in a “small alleyway” is also transforming the unit that previously housed Carphone Warehouse and Ori Caffè is now serving a Mediterranean-style menu in Liverpool ONE, with people “banging on the window” to get in.
One family , who have never worked in the industry, told the ECHO just this week that they were “taking a massive risk” by opening a café.
Mum Rachel and dad Nicholas with their two boys, three-year-old Lucian and and one-year-old Lorenz(Image: Michael Driffill)
Husband and wife Nicholas and Rachel Santangeli, recently opened Lu&Lo Coffee on Liverpool Road North. The couple from Maghull, are hoping to “fill a void” in the town. What they lack in experience, they make up for in enthusiasm and drive, according to dad Nicholas.
Nicholas, a 33-year-old who previously worked as a head of physical development in the army, said his family was prepared to take the risk despite the current situation.
The former Deyes High School pupil said: “We’ve always had this passion for coffee. This is our first little venture into the industry, and we wanted to give things a go head-on.
The Santangeli family outside their new coffee shop(Image: Michael Driffill)
“We aren’t big drinkers, but our thing to do together is to go for a coffee. We drive to Manchester and Chester just to try new coffee shops. We’ve been together for eight years, and from day one, it has been something we have always done. It’s been crazy since opening. It’s been so busy, which is obviously what we wanted. It’s great to see everyone raving about the place. It’s a big learning curve, but it is paying off and going well so far.
“We were still doing our day jobs, and then in the evenings, doing everything we could in our spare time to get it ready. It’s a massive risk in the current climate, but at the same time, we believe in ourselves.
“It’s a family-run business, and we are going all in on it. We have the passion, and we know we are delivering a really good product, a product that is filling a void in Maghull.”