A "cosy" Liverpool café has been loved in the city centre for almost four decades.
The Liverpool ECHO recently took a look back at the history of The Egg Café, which for decades has seen customers climb the big staircase of the grand old Victorian warehouse to visit. Situated a stone's throw away from Bold Street, many will remember owners like Peter Daniels running the business, but it was back in December 2018 that The Egg was taken over by husband and wife Trevor Green and Janice Egerton.
A popular city centre spot for vegetarians and vegans, the business on Newington Street has seen generations of locals and students pass through its doors. The Egg has long been a a hub for creatives and is also loved for its interior, which boasts a mezzanine level that looks down over the rest of the café and unique upcycled furniture.
READ MORE: Do you remember these lost high street brands through the years?
READ MORE: 17 things you will only remember if you had MSN as a teenager
Trevor, originally from Sheffield, started coming to the café over 25 years ago as a customer visiting the city. As part of the Liverpool ECHO's How It Used To Be series, we recently spoke to Trevor, 68, about his memories of The Egg Café from years gone by.
And ECHO readers have since been sharing their fond memories of the cafe through the years and what they love about it today. On our Facebook page, Camilla Mansfield said: "Love The Egg, food is fantastic."
Norma-Ann Dann wrote: "A friend recommended I visited The Egg a few years ago, been a few times since. The food is amazing, staff wonderful and the atmosphere is so relaxed. Even my friends who aren't veggies love the place."
Michele Donovan wrote: "I love The Egg Café. It's a very special cosy place." Kate Watkins commented: "Great place."
Have you visited The Egg Café? Let us know in the comments section below.
Mary Cottee posted: "Great place to visit.. Best grub in town." Mark Wright said: "Great café, when visitors at work say they are veggie, I always take them here."
Jouli Patchouli posted: "Been visiting since almost the beginning of it. Still Love it." And Chris Shaun Gill commented: "Island of Bohemianism."
Owner Trevor started coming to the café over 25 years ago as a customer. Trevor told the ECHO: "Liverpool was so different then. I used to come here because I worked at a college nearby.
"My wife and I, our background is we’re academics in art and design and I used to come here 25, 30 years ago but I didn't live in Liverpool at the time. But I used to pop in and the place was very different from what it is now.
"People have this very nostalgic thing about The Egg Café, they remember chaotic parties here because we didn't have an alcohol license for selling alcohol, but you could bring your own. It used to have big old sofas, second hand sofas and people would be sat around in groups. It was more like someone's back room which was great on one level, but as time and government bureaucracy changed, you have to kind of change with it.
"This place was so different and it is still so different. For example, the long tables – this was probably one of the first cafes or restaurants in Liverpool that had long tables. The idea was that when people come in, they sit in there and they just meet people and people know that. You don't feel out of place if someone comes and sits next to them 'cause that's just how it is."
Today, October 1, is World Vegetarian Day – and while vegetarianism and veganism aren't new, decades ago, The Egg Café was one of the only venues to offer a menu catering to those lifestyles. Trevor said: "The Egg was different, it was incredibly friendly, it had a little buzz.
"I'd not really experienced vegetarian food, which I found interesting, and there were artists and poets who used to come in here. It was definitely pioneering 30 or 40 years ago.
"I think there may have been only two or three restaurants at the time that would have been vegetarian. There’s been an explosion over the last decade, in fact it's not even a decade it's probably five or six years where vegetarianism and veganism has kind of entered the mainstream.
"People like Linda McCartney and Paul McCartney pioneered that as well. We had an image of a cutting from a paper quite a few years ago – there was someone around LIPA and there was a guy who looked like he was doing some gardening or painting at one part of the building.
"On closer inspection it was Paul McCartney and the guy wasn't really sure apparently but just asked him directions to a vegetarian café and he just pointed him straight to The Egg Cafe. We kept that for quite a long time because it was a lovely little story.
Join the Liverpool ECHO's memories and history WhatsApp community
Trevor and Janice weren't looking to take over a business, but when the opportunity to own The Egg Café came up, they took it. In the last five years, the pair have kept the "unique ambience of the place" while also "quietly renovating it".
Trevor continues to work alongside local artists and host exhibitions on site, but said whenever the team think about doing something new, they always think "is it Egg?". He said running the business hasn't been without its challenges, from the impact of lockdown, the rate of VAT and food prices increasing.
Trevor said: "We had one year before the pandemic and it was a fantastic year, lots of customers etc and then obviously the pandemic hit and we went into lockdown. One of the things my wife and myself decided to do, which was crazy from a business point of view, was we made a decision not to make anyone redundant.
"For almost a year we kept on all the staff and not a single person was made redundant through lockdown, so we’re quite proud of that because it was difficult. Even with the government support it was very, very challenging and since then, there’s even more challenges.
"It's got such a legacy and there's not that many places in Liverpool left that still have that from years ago. Not many people come in off the street not knowing about the café.
"What happens is its word of mouth and people say you've got to find that big red door and go up those stairs two flights." Trevor said generations continue to come through their doors and while the history of the site is very attractive, he thinks the staff are part of what keeps people coming back.
Trevor said: "I think in many ways it's the staff, they're very eclectic and they're highly individualistic. The staff have always been very interesting and they kind of keep me and my wife young.
"We’ve always worked with students, I worked with students for 30 years and I've always said when you're working around young people it kind of rubs off on you, you enter into conversations you wouldn't usually have if you weren't in a place like this."
"I've always been incredibly surprised by the range of people that come in here. We have mums with toddlers, we have older people who've been coming here for years.
"I was speaking to two guys who were vegans who told us they have been coming for 30 years and it's quite a surprise. There's a core bunch of student ages – it’s one of the broadest spectrums and I don't think that many place have that.
To find out more about The Egg Café, click here.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here