"When we got here, Water Street felt a bit empty", says Neil Palin.
Co-director of Oriel Close Barbers, found in Water Street's Oriel Chambers, Neil and his business partner Luke Gorman took over their unit during the first coronavirus lockdown and opened in August 2020. Since then he has witnessed plenty of change on one of Liverpool city centre's oldest streets.
He added: "Gaucho wasn't here, the India Buildings renovation wasn't finished, Newz Bar was empty. There were some good independents, but there wasn't a lot else."
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For Neil, 35, from Everton, the appeal of the area was the grand aesthetic. Water Street connects Liverpool's Three Graces with Castle Street. Looking down the road from the Town Hall provides one of the city's most iconic views, as the Liver Building towers above its surroundings.
However, over two years since he started working there, Neil believes the Water Street area has become home to businesses befitting its grandeur. Citing the arrival of high-end restaurants Gaucho and Hawksmoor - found on the Brunswick Street side of the recently-renovated India Buildings - and an abundance of independent businesses, he thinks it is clear it's becoming the 'place to be'.
He is not alone in that view. Labour councillor for Central Liverpool Nick Small told the ECHO : " I think the Water Street area and surrounding areas are on the up at the moment.
"Castle Street on the whole is a very high-end, very positive night time economy offer and I think you’re seeing an extension of that. Some of it is because India Buildings has been refurbished and you now have a lot more people working there at HMRC.
"On the whole it’s a positive development. Hawksmoor, Gaucho and some of the new investment there is really to be welcomed".
' I hope we feel like a really great Scouse restaurant'
Renowned steakhouse Hawksmoor opened its doors in Liverpool in November. Joining HMRC in the grand setting of India Buildings, its arrival is seen by many as a statement of progress for the city.
Having been founded in 2006 by Will Beckett and Huw Gott, Hawksmoor now has seven restaurants in London, as well as venues in Manchester, Edinburgh and New York City. CEO Will Beckett told the ECHO he brought the chain to Liverpool as he sees it as a "city that's going places".
He said: "T o my mind, Liverpool has changed a lot in the last five to ten years. Probably, if you’d asked me five, six or seven years ago, ‘what do you think about a Hawksmoor in Liverpool?’, I probably would have said ‘I’m not sure’.
"But I really feel like it’s a city that’s going places - generally and from a food and drink perspective. There’s been loads of interesting things happening in the restaurant scene in Liverpool, whether that’s fine dining stuff like Roski or the Arts School, or national chains like Mowgli which started there, or cool independent places like Manifest or Deli Fonseca, there is great stuff there.
"I think, in the past, maybe there was an idea that you opened there if you were North West-based - Living Ventures did stuff - or Northern-based, but I think it’s on the radar across the country now as a really exciting dining destination."
For Will, being located between Castle Street and Liverpool's waterfront is a plus, while India Buildings formed a considerable part of the city 's appeal. He said: "There are lots of interesting parts of the city, when you go to Water Street it's very different to up on Bold Street and I do really like the docks.
"What the Barrie Brothers have done at Lerpwl and what Sam has done at Madre is great. I like that area and it feels good for me to be close to it, but not be in it.
"I think there is plenty that I like about where we are, it just felt the right blend of office and residential with being a destination area itself. We always liked the idea of being off the beaten track and we’ve got a lovely building there to do that in."
Will added: "I really hope we do justice to the building. Liverpool is full of unbelievably beautiful buildings, but you might not see interiors that have really matched the building.
"I’m not saying there are none by any means. For example, Wetherspoons do it a lot all over the country - they offer something not particularly designed in a beautiful building. I hope we do justice to the building because it’s really lovely and it’s got great history."
According to Will, another key factor in bringing Hawksmoor to Liverpool was that its Manchester venue attracted so many Scousers, leading his team to think there would be an appetite for the restaurant in this city. The diminishing need to go to Manchester for such a brand in recent years is proof of Liverpool's growth, in the view of Neil from Oriel Close Barbers.
Welcoming its arrival, he said: "Gaucho and Hawksmoor are the sort of restaurants you used to only find in Manchester and London and now we’re getting them. It’s a sign of progress and ambition for the city - major restaurant chains are looking at Liverpool and they think Water Street is the place they want to be."
Will recognises that and hopes Hawksmoor can play a part in offering Liverpudlians more choice - as well as attracting more people to the city.
He said: "That feeling which I recognise was we felt if people wanted a really great destination, a great restaurant experience or something special, they might have to leave Liverpool. Or you had to go down the fine dining route, but that’s quite a specific kind of taste.
"But if you wanted the special destination stuff that Hawksmoor offers, you had to leave Liverpool to get it. I hope people feel like you can get that now - not just for people who live in Liverpool, but for people who come to Liverpool. You can come to Liverpool for special stuff".
Despite Hawksmoor's London origins, Will believes the restaurant will fit in well in Liverpool, as it chimes with a 'Scouse ethos'. He said: "The main thing is that I hope we feel like a really great Scouse restaurant.
"We’re not trying to open a London restaurant or a New York restaurant or whatever in Liverpool, we’re trying to open a Liverpudlian restaurant. We’ve hired a great team of Scousers and it strikes me that the Hawksmoor ethos fits with the Scouse ethos - nice things, with no frills to it, just good things, a sense of humour - I think Scousers are like that.
"We’ve found it really easy to build a team of committed, hard-working and lovely people who like Hawksmoor because it’s good.
"This is our eleventh restaurant and we’ve never opened anywhere where people have thanked us for opening except Liverpool. To my mind, a surprisingly high number of people have said ‘thank you for coming in’ because it says something to them.
"Our last opening outside of London was in New York. To have a restaurant that goes to New York but also opens in Liverpool and goes to spend the amount of money there, hire a big team, I think people really care about that stuff."
According to Cllr Small, the city really does. He added: "I think it’s a fantastic addition to that part of the city centre. With Gaucho as well, it’s really good to see quality, high-end investment in the city like that and it really will boost our night time economy in the right way.
"Architecturally, that part of the city lends itself to businesses like that. I think the India Buildings redevelopment is absolutely fantastic, there are going to be a lot more people working in the area and spending money in the area - that’s a real positive and you can see how that’s driven investment into Water Street and surrounding streets."
'Beautiful hot food, ice cold beer, and excellent customer service'
Hawksmoor is not the only high-profile recent arrival into the area. American chain Hooters opened in Water Street's New Zealand house - formerly the home of Newz Bar - in November.
After following Nottingham to become the UK's second Hooters, the Liverpool opening has not been without controversy. In February, Mayor Joanne Anderson criticised the plan to open in the city, saying the franchise had “an infamous sexually objectifying and misogynistic environment".
Despite facing opposition, the venue was granted a licence and opened on November 21. Shortly after opening, Rachael Moss, director and owner of Hooters Liverpool, told the ECHO she had wanted to bring Hooters to the city after being "blown away" when she visited the chain in Florida.
Rachael said: "I went to my first Hooters in 2002 in Orlando and became obsessed. I walked in and I'll never forget the lady, she blew me away. She sat down right next to me, gave me her name and really spoke with me.
"I was shocked and pretty astounded by how marvellous it was. The food was unreal - it was beautiful hot food, ice cold beer, and excellent customer service. There was nothing like it in England.
"Why do we not have that amazing, sparkly service here? In England, across the board, it's socially acceptable to not give that wonderful, dedicated service and it's understandable - they're overworked and tired and it's just the norm not to interact with customers in that American way."
However, since opening, Hooters has found itself at the centre of two rows. The bar has been told to remove two large orange signs on the exterior of its premises, which Liverpool City Council has said was put up without correct permission.
A council spokesperson told the ECHO Hooters had applied for the permission but it was rejected. The signs were then put up anyway and Hooters is appealing the decision.
Additionally, two of Hooters' neighbouring businesses have also raised concerns with noise generated from Hooters' extractor system. Cllr Nick Small and his colleague Christine Banks informed Environmental Health it is being questioned whether there is the necessary planning permission in place for it.
Paola Paulucci, who owns Flour Will Fly in Oriel Chambers, shared a video of the fan and her frustration at the noise. In the short clip, She said: “I don’t understand how we’re supposed to live with this, how is that okay?". Additionally, on Friday (December 16), Oriel Close Barbers raised their concerns about the fan on Instagram.
When Flour Will Fly raised the issue, Rachael Moss said the business had done nothing wrong. She told the ECHO recently : “The equipment is legally allowed to be there, we didn’t install it.
“It’s been there since 2015 and is a lawful, highly regulated piece of equipment. Because Oriel Chambers is a listed building, they have very thin windows.
“We have extremely high standards as a global brand and I had my architect go round to inspect during our initial processes.” At the time of writing, Hooters had not responded to a request for comment about Oriel Close Barbers' concern.
' We need different parts of the city centre serving different needs'
Speaking to the ECHO last month, Hooters' director Rachael made the case for it in Liverpool, saying: "Rachael added: "I felt at home in Hooters. Liverpool and Hooters are the same, we're friendly, we're hospitable and we're hilarious. It's very tongue in cheek here, nobody takes themselves too seriously."
Cllr Small is willing to give Hooters a chance to prove they can be an asset to the Water Street area, but he believes the business is in the wrong part of town.
He said: "I’ve not made any moral judgements around Hooters - some people have - I just think it’s in the wrong part of the city centre. I don’t think it’s going to work there, because they’re in the wrong location.
"The concerns that I have and a lot of residents have is what impact it will have on the rest of the area? Is it going to drive out new investment?"
Cllr Small's view is that different parts of the city centre need to serve different needs. He said: "We need as many eggs in as many different baskets as we can get.
"What we’re only beginning to do well now is to get different quarters and different parts of the city centre to have a different feel. What happens in Mathew Street and Concert Square has its place - that’s what some people want and it’s good that we can deliver that. But we also need more food-led venues, more high-quality venues and a different type of offer there."
Regarding what direction he would like to see for Water Street in the future, the councillor said: "We need to all be working together to shape what we want there. Broadly, we’ve got it right, but it’s about the council, the Business Improvement District and residents to start talking to each other, to articulate what everyone’s vision is for that area and the businesses are an integral part of that."
For Water Street and its surrounding area, Neil wants to see more of what he believes has brought the best out of it. He said: "I’d like to see more venues like Gaucho but I’d like a nice mixture of classy establishments and independents. Independents are the heartbeat of the city.
"More bars are opening and that’s a good thing, this part of the city has a lot to be excited about."
Hooters Liverpool was approached to speak for this article.
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