After working in some of the best restaurants in Liverpool, the next step in Emil Rahaeanu’s career took him to the heart of County Road.
County Road is a high street that has been bruised more than most in recent years and a diverse selection of new businesses aren’t necessarily queuing up for a slice of the action.
But just like the old stadium which runs parallel to the high street, a foundation can be quickly built on skill, grit and determination. “I know it's a tough place,” says Emil, 33 sitting at a table in his café overlooking a busy high street, “but the support I received around here from everybody was amazing.”
READ MORE: Issues linger below the surface of north Liverpool’s most famous road
A talented pastry chef originally from Romania, Emil’s Kitchen specialises in desserts and “the best cake in town”, according to one regular. Opened in February with his wife Carmen, he says they have quickly fallen for the area and already have eyes on laying down long-term roots - perhaps writing themselves into a new chapter for one of the city’s most famous roads.
"I want people to know me, what I am doing and want to stay here for a long time," says Emil.
A few doors down, the newly fitted and enormous windows of Spellow Library draw in as much sunlight as possible - even on the most overcast day. The new ‘Spellow Hub’ opened a few weeks back but for a period of time risked becoming another County Road drama.
The ageing library was set to close for a six week refurbishment at the start of 2022 but instead remained out of service to the public for more than a year as works hit significant delays. Now operating as a library, community space and council one stop shop for six days a week as opposed to its original three, it has returned as an essential community facility in a part of the city that has seen so many disappear in the last decade.
“People were itching to get back into the building,” says hub manager Deborah Moore. Inside, the children’s library is full to the brim with mums and toddlers, with another influx set to arrive at 3pm when the schools let out.
“The area has got its buzz back,” says Deborah, noting that 300 people are visiting the facility each day on average, adding: “This is a deprived area and so it's really important to be able to help the community.”
'It was like Christmas day'
New eateries and the return of the library form the basis for a positive story for County Road, but an all encompassing fix hasn’t yet taken hold on this part of the A59. Staring back through the tall windows of the hub is evidence of the challenges the area still faces.
The former Jack’s supermarket, now boarded up and closed off, wasn’t roundly welcomed by everyone in the area when it arrived - seen by some as a downgrade on the former Tesco which operated in the building. But when the retailer announced its departure in February 2022, it was to leave a densely populated area without access to a supermarket.
Home Bargains has since announced plans to move into the vacant unit. But is now close to a year since a shop operated within the premises.
Further, towards the Breeze Hill end of the road, the scars of the recent highway scheme are still fresh in the memory. For almost a year, County Road unfathomably was left without tarmac after the collapse of VIAM, formerly trading as Kings.
The engineering company was only part of the way through an expensive resurfacing scheme when it ran into difficulties in the summer of 2021. Patches of the road then had to be torn up and were left in limbo.
The council also announced a design review was needed to complete the job as it stretched into its final stages. The surfacing was eventually put back in place in April 2022.
“The area hit one of its worst points when the road was left like that,” says Lynscy, an employee at a local dog grooming shop, briefly popping into County Road institution Sweeps for a coffee. The disruption with the road meant that paving outside of her business was ripped up for a period of time, but looking ahead she says “things have gotten better” now that the road ordeal is over.
Behind the counter of the coffeeshop-cum-hairdressers are its proprietors, Tracy English and Tracy Horseman. Reflecting on recent changes in the area, they say it was “like Christmas day” when they heard about Home Bargains taking over the deserted Jack’s store, but this is only one piece in a complicated puzzle as County Road looks to reinject the hustle and bustle it was once defined by.
"We’ve got to make people want to come here," says Tracy English. She notes how many of the units along the street are in use but don’t open to the public - instead used for things like storage, in turn harming the allure of the high street.
A beacon of hope
Perhaps the most telling closure in the years to come will be Goodison Park itself. If construction of Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore remains on track, the next full season will be the club's last in L4.
The Toffees will however aim to leave a lasting footprint on the streets snaking out from County Road with its Goodison Legacy Project - aiming to deliver new homes and facilities for the area. The charity arm of the club, Everton In The Community, has already laid down key foundations for this future vision.
A short walk downhill from the Spellow Hub, the People’s Place recently opened on Spellow Lane next to the Blues’ stadium. It will operate as a dedicated mental health facility and support those in the local and wider area.
Michael Salla, deputy chief executive at EITC, has worked for the charity for 16 years and says the development was inspired by the desire to “provide people with a beacon of hope.” He adds that EITC had carried out around 15 projects focusing on the mental health of “children and young people and fathers” but came to realise that they “need to do more.”
While the charity has worked to enhance “health, education and employment” for those in the local area, with Michael noting the difficulty accessing some health services, EITC has also looked to make a tangible difference in terms of its developments in L4.
The People’s Place, for instance, redeveloped derelict land. "People can see this - it makes the area look a lot better, says Michael, adding: “People take more pride in the area. It was [previously] a space for anti-social behaviour.”
'We’re all trying to reach the same goal'
Ryan O’Hanlon has noticed queues outside of the Spellow hub when travelling to work at The Blue Base on Walton Road in recent weeks. “It is vital for any community,” the Blue Family coordinator at EITC says of the facility, “and it’s great the people were wanting to use that resource.”
The queues outside of the library are however dwarfed in comparison to those outside of the Blue Base each Thursday for close to a year. In partnership with Fans Supporting Foodbank, it has been operating a mobile food pantry which has rapidly grown into one of the most in-demand in the city.
“We’ve seen numbers have increased especially as the cost of living has intensified during the winter,” says Ryan, 41, overseeing the final preparations to the outdoor supermarket.
Now receiving 150-200 members per week, the service hit its peak capacity as winter was drawing in. “We had to make a waiting list and that was going up. We weren't able to reduce it," says Ryan, "so we had to do a session after [the first one in the morning] to ensure that people in need are being helped.”
He adds: “Food is the hook, but we need to get to the cause of why people are experiencing food poverty. We wouldn't be doing it justice if we just left it to food, so we have to resolve the problems.”
For every positive in the L4 area, there are long standing challenges remaining in plain sight - as this small corner on the Walton and Kirkdale border shows. Outside of the Community Shop across the road, another large queue is formed with people waiting to shop for discount food.
The distinctive orange building, one of 11 in the country, operates on a free membership basis and is open to anyone living locally who receives welfare support, is on a low income, or is referred by a partner organisation. All revenue raised in the store is reinvested into the local area through a range of development courses offered by the service, with a community Kitchen serving low-cost meals where with kids eat free every day.
For the list of challenges, there are also those working to meet the needs of the local area. “Organisations are all working together," says Michelle Farrelly, social impact lead at Community Shop, "we’re all trying to reach the same goal - trying to help the community.”
Back up County Road, the colour scheme for the new Spellow Hub was chosen by locals, Deborah Moore tells the ECHO. It predominantly draws on orange - the same tint that covers the Community shop where County Road and Walton Road meet, the colour chosen due to its prominence as a relatable landmark for locals.
It’s a decision that appears to show the area taking ownership and finding unity in how it overcomes deprivation, and the positivity places like the Spellow Hub, Blue Base and People’s place can promote for L4.
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