THE MERCHANT, A BRAND NEW BAR, CANTEEN AND GARDEN RECENTLY OPENED IN THE HEART OF LIVERPOOL’S ROPEWALKS DISTRICT.

Located in a historic corner building on Slater Street, the former merchant’s house has been transformed into a new music, food and arts space.

Local entrepreneurs Richard McGinnis and Lewis Boardman, who also own neighbouring venue The Shipping Forecast, have redeveloped the site to now include a street level cafe-bar, a first floor multi-use events space and extensive garden to the rear.

The historic influences of the building have been retained and complemented with Scandinavian-style decor of raw plaster, light plywood and greenery.

On the ground-floor bar, a dedicated gin parlour stocks over 50 brands – plus a Gin Goblet offer where customers can buy one and get a second for only £1 – there’s a similarly comprehensive selection of craft beers, including brands from the city’s own Liverpool Craft Beer Co. and Mad Hatter breweries, plus Cloudwater Brew Co from Manchester.

Customers can enjoy eats from The Merchant’s own pizza brand, Nightcrawler Pizza Bar which serves New York style pizzas by the slice.

In the canteen ‘Felicity’s Kitchen’ they have introduced a revolving kitchen concept, collaborating with some of the best street food traders in the North West. The first to hold a two month residency are Leeds-based burger legends Patty Smith’s, who bring their pimped-up session fries to the city for the first time.

The Merchant co-Founder Richard McGinnis commented: “It’s been an exciting project to redevelop this iconic building and bring it back to life – with our quality food, drink and music offer, it will only add to such a dynamic and vibrant area of the city.”

Lewis Boardman added: “We know this district of the city very well through our other businesses interests and have brought our years of experience together and channelled them in this brand new space for Liverpool – we’re delighted with the result.”

For related features, please pay a visit to our food & drink page.