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Mike and Becky Griffiths Wedding . Photographer : Rachel Clarke Photography .
THE LOVE LANE STORY
The Love Lane story – like all great ones – has been an adventure full of ups and downs , and recently the effects of the pandemic ! Wirral Life spoke to Love Lane founder , Stephen Crawley , to find out more about their future plans .
" Our love of great beer , and passion for the people who enjoy it , has spurred us on over this stop and start 18 months during the pandemic . We are proud of how the hospitality industry has made it through , and the experience has fired our resilience and passion for an exciting future !
" Worldwide , the historic preconceptions of a brewery venue have been changed and Love Lane set out to have a West Coast America Warehouse feel and become part of our city and be at the heart of the local community .
" The Love Lane team are proud of what we have achieved so far . We have been in our new home for almost 4 years , and we love that we have played a part in the development of the Baltic Triangle . This iconic area is a symbol of Liverpool ’ s development and we wanted for our building to make the city region proud .
" As the governments roadmap has allowed us to emerge , slowly but surely , the streets around are bursting into life with new apartments , the Baltic Hotel , and our new neighbours like Milexa and the buzz is returning . Locals , regulars , and tourists are visiting us again and enjoying the spacious roads free of one-way signs and roadworks .
" Quietly , we have also become a sought-after venue for events with people seeking to use our space for meetings , parties , and special events like the recent launch of ‘ Mersey Life ’ magazine . Many of the recent enquiries are about wedding celebrations – maybe it ’ s in the name ?
" It seems word has got around that Love Lane hosts great weddings . They ’ re not ‘ chintzy in a marquee ’ and the ‘ beer and the gin is fabulous '. Some couples just love the idea of their special day being in a modern and exciting place that also happens to be a brewery and distillery . What ’ s not to Love about saying ‘ I do ’ in Love Lane .
" But post pandemic , we do not want to have to shut for private events over 50 people . So how do we cope with locals , regulars , tourists , events , and weddings all at the same time ?
" Our solution is to develop our top floor into a new events space . We will turn our tasting room and office into two multi-use rooms , with new audio-visual equipment , bars , another kitchen , more toilets , and ensure they match the quality of our existing facilities .
" This will ensure we can serve the wider community downstairs and host events upstairs simultaneously .
" However , the Hospitality industry has been amongst the hardest hit in the last 20 months and Love Lane is no different . We do not have the cash to fund the works required .
" We have launched our ‘ Pay Forward Rewards ’ Crowdfunder campaign , which is like what Gary Usher has run to fund his restaurants across the North-West ( E . g ., Burnt Truffle , Heswall and Wreckfish , Liverpool ). We are not adding another site , we are just funding a new events floor .
" You buy rewards in advance for as little as £ 20 , such as Love Lane pints , Ginsmiths G & T ’ s , Gin Trees , Brewery Tours , Gin Schools or Sunday Lunch . There are dinners , events and offers on beer and gin . We have tried to create a reward for all budgets and needs .
36 wirrallife . com