The street has seen a revival in recent years and is now the "liveliest it's ever been" "When we first took the premises, this end of Dale Street was derelict", says Gareth Morgan. Alongside his wife Vicky, Gareth has run craft beer bar The Dead Crafty Beer Co. since 2015 and the couple, who live in Garston , have witnessed plenty of change in that time.
Gareth, 45, added: "Back then, you had the pubs like The Ship & Mitre and The Excelsior but the retail units were all derelict. There was someone building what turned into the Dale Street Kitchen but nobody came here. "People just walked past, it was all hoardings all round it.
We did think 'what are we doing here?'" Fortunately, Dead Crafty had customers on its doorstep, as Dale Street remained the heart of Liverpool's business district. " The Municipal was still open as offices then, so there were thousands of council workers", said Gareth. "For our Thursday and Friday trade, it was all council workers.
" However, a significant blow arrived shortly after opening. Vicky, 47, said: " The Magistrates' Courts (found directly opposite the bar) closed six months after we opened. We thought it might turn into a hotel or something new, but that hasn’t happened yet.
" The council also departed Dale Street a year later, taking their after-work drinkers with them. Meanwhile, the court building has sat empty since 2015, with a number of attempts to convert it into accommodation failing to get off the ground. A new application was appro.