The Little Taproom on Aigburth Road did not have the easiest start to life.
A micro pub and gin distillery, the Taproom serves independent beer from its homely setting on L17's main road. The pub launched on Friday, March 13 2020 and its opening night was packed with people excited by Aigburth's new offering. By the following Friday, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson had told the public to avoid all non-essential contact and warned against going to pubs amid the outbreak of Covid-19. On March 23, 2020, the UK was placed into the first national lockdown.
Just ten days after opening their new venture, owners Si Vanderbelt and Aggy Perreau had to adapt to keep the Taproom alive. Sitting in the pub's front room as he prepares for an evening of work, Si told the ECHO: "We opened on Friday 13 March 2020 and were closed as a pub the following Friday - not the most auspicious start.
