Liverpool has always been home to many much-loved independent and long standing businesses.
Through the decades, we've seen many iconic businesses come and go that still live on in our fond memories and photographs. But like other cities across the UK - some shops, clubs and their themes have had their fair share of controversy through the years.
Today, some may not be disputed as much. But years ago, protests took place, petitions were signed and it was shocking to a number of locals to hear they were opening on our streets, from a Margaret Thatcher themed café to shops selling "adult material."
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Whilst Liverpool is home to some similar businesses today and a lot has changed in society through the decades, at the time, these businesses are thought to have caused quite a stir. Here, we take a look back at a few of them.
This list is not intended to be comprehensive, we've included a number of lost Liverpool businesses that were considered or deemed controversial at the time they were open. But, if you feel there is something else we should have included, let us know in the comments section below.
Thatcher's
The idea that somebody would open a café in Liverpool named after former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher seems almost beyond comprehension - but it did in fact happen. The Liverpool ECHO previously reported how the businesses was the brainchild of Anthony Steen, who became Conservative MP for Wavertree in 1974.
The cafe was opened in 1978 and one archive image shows two women enjoying a cuppa with a photo of The Iron Lady on the wall behind them. However, the shop wasn't popular with everyone and there are accounts that during the Toxteth Riots in July 1981, some rioters had journeyed out of Toxteth to smash all the windows of the tea room on Allerton Road.
At the time, it was also reported how the shop became the focus for Labour Party Young Socialists' demonstrations in the early 1980s. It was said that while customers were inside, activists wearing rubber Margaret Thatcher masks would gawp and jeer through the windows.
Do you remember this business? Let us know in the comments section below.
Sven Books
Back in 1981, a controversial new 'adult' book shop, Sven Books, opened on Smithdown Road, Wavertree - much to the anger of a number of locals. The ECHO previously reported how after opening, dozens of campaigners led by Wavertree Conservative MP and local residents, picketed the shop for eight hours a day, six days a week.
One campaigner at the time told the ECHO he felt the presence of the shop would "lower the standards" of the area. However, the report quoted the cashier of the shop who was unruffled by the demonstration, as saying: "Whatever they do couldn't possibly affect us. It's just silly. I'm a vegetarian and there is a butcher's shop down the road, but that doesn't bother me."
At one point, protesters were accused by the shop's owners of a dirty tricks campaign and in 1982, the Liverpool Echo reported a women's group claimed responsibility for daubing the shop with slogans and pouring glue into the locks. The shop was one of a number of 'sex shops' that had opened up in the city around the same time, which prompted calls to Government to grant local councils more powers to bring such premises under stricter controls.
In 1983, Sven Books' application was turned down after councillors deemed it to be in an inappropriate location of the city being close to homes, schools and churches. The shop was forced to shut soon after.
Gilmore Cinema Club
For almost a decade, a membership-based cinema showing uncensored sex films called Liverpool home. Located on Manchester Street, the Gilmore Cinema Club had an interesting time in what is thought to have been its final year.
In August 1985, the ECHO reported how the cinema faced closure following secret visits by plain-clothes police. Officers saw three films where no censorship certificate was displayed, resulting in Liverpool Council stating the cinema club had broken conditions of its "restricted 18" licence.
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The police officers were also given immediate entracne to the club after paying £1 entrance fee instead of having to wait for 24 hours. In September 1985, the ECHO reported how a "mystery explosions ripped through Liverpool's controversial adult cinema" half-an-hour after closing time.
Tea Cafe
For 17 years, Liverpool businessman Gary Youds fought to keep the doors of the city's first Amsterdam-style cannabis cafe open. In the early Noughties, changes in UK legislation saw cannabis downgraded from a Class B drug to a Class C and in 2002, Youds hit the headlines when he first applied to Liverpool Council to convert a former taxi office into a private members' club for cannabis smokers.
When his plans were rejected by councillors, the former property developer decided to set one up anyway, opening the Tea Cafe on Holt Road, Kensington in March 2005. Soon after opening, the cafe was raided by police and its owner arrested, but Youds later reopened the café despite being served with a 28-day closure notice by Liverpool Council. At one point, he also invited members of the community to visit for themselves, with some leaving with changed opinions.
Renamed as the Chillin' Rooms, Youds was jailed for 12-months in 2006 for drugs offences after repeatedly flouting laws banning Amsterdam-style cafes. Despite numerous raids, the cafe reopened again. In 2015, officers raided the cafe and discovered £11,000 of cannabis, plus grinders and bongs.
In January 2017, Youds was sentenced to nine-months in jail after being caught running the illegal business for a third time. In 2020, a free man once more, Youds spoke to the ECHO about what it was like running the Chillin' Rooms and why he had no regrets. In February last year, the ECHO reported how Youds, 53, pleaded guilty to drugs offences at Liverpool Crown Court.
Fantasy Girls
In 1997, the ECHO reported how "Liverpool's controversial strip club" called Fantasy Girls had re-opened after a two-month shut down. The Bold Street club provoked a storm of protest the year prior after complaints from local residents.
At the time, more than 2,000 people signed a petition calling for the club to be closed. At one point, there were reports that complaints had been made about children and pedestrians being able to see into the club, with workers being spotted in the club's doorway.
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A spokeswoman for the group who owned Fantasy Girls, said in 1997 they were confident there would be no more protests. She said: "We closed for some extensive refurbishment. We have added satellite television, a new sound system and new decorations. We found most of the protesters came from outside the Bold Street area, and that the locals were quite happy for us to be here."
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