The Dispensary has stood in Liverpool city centre since 1857 "You're a lot more than a bartender in this kind of place, you are people's company in the daytime, and you get to speak to all walks of life and hear all their stories", says Toni Wilkinson. Toni, 36, from Maghull , is the general manager of The Dispensary, a much-loved pub on Renshaw Street in Liverpool city centre . Working behind the pub's historic bar means a lot to her.
As she took a break from serving a collection of loyal regulars on Thursday lunchtime, she told the ECHO : "It's like sitting around your grandad on a Wednesday afternoon ten times over, they will tell you all their stories. "There is so much love in the pub for people who have drank here longer than I've been alive. That resonates right through.
" Having stood on the corner of Renshaw Street and Oldham Street since 1857, The Dispensary is one of Liverpool's oldest pubs. Previously part of the Cains empire - evident through the now-defunct brewery's branding on its exterior - it has had many owners and guises in recent decades. Keeping its storied history going is what motivates owner Trevor O'Loughlin.
Born in Galway, Ireland, to a family of publicans and bar owners, Trevor now lives in Aigburth and took over the pub in 2018, turning it into an Irish pub that possesses far more authenticity than many you would find. About taking over The Dispensary, Trevor told the ECHO : "The previous landlord was retiring, his wife wasn't well. It was an oppo.