The shopping centre is preparing for a new era after the loss of a huge food market
There are no signs of life at the building which once hosted one of Liverpool’s biggest indoor food markets. GPO Food Market and Bar opened in June 2021 in the Metquarter shopping centre.
For many people, they first heard the news about its closure from fellow Metquarter business Transalpino. It was founded by Brendan Wyatt in 2006, who wanted to sell clothes and trainers inspired by the fashion on the football terraces of Merseyside and Europe in the 1980s.
Located on the site of the old General Post Office, the stalls included Jailbird Nashville Fried Chicken, Thai 25 and SK Little India all housed in the street-food style venue. However, after it did not open over the weekend, the shopping centre confirmed this afternoon that GPO had closed its doors for good, adding the business “has not performed to the level expected”.
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Named after the student travel agency which would take Reds fans to European away trips in the 1980s, it has developed a loyal following with the likes of Jamie Carragher and Jamie Webster among their regular customers. Transalpino moved from Bold Street to the Metquarter in 2022, and on Sunday was one of the first to announce that GPO had closed, describing it as a “another victim of a steadily decreasing high street”.
Speaking to the ECHO, Brendan said he was surprised to hear the news over the weekend. He said: “We turned up to work on Saturday and were told that GPO had closed suddenly.
“I always thought it looked busy. It was more of a late afternoon and evening kind of place. Going into the festive season, like Smiffy’s, you’d think they ride out the festive period before closing. It just shows how instant decisions like this are.”
While Brendan is concerned about the number of recent closures in the Metquarter, he puts these events down to broader issues. He argued Transalpino was still doing well, but says it can be challenging to compete with the combination of online shopping and business costs rising while many people’s wages are falling.
He said: “In the Metquarter, we’ve lost Kids Cavern, GPO, Costa, lost Hugo Boss and another aesthetics shop recently. We’re missing out on footfall. But the whole high street is suffering. I think people changed the way they shop during covid.
“We were on Bold Street previously. You think there’s hustle and bustle on Bold Street but everyone’s going there for food. Lots of others are just going past while they on their way to work. We have to compete with Amazon but I use it myself. You can order something at 7pm at night and it’s there at 10am in the morning.”
The Metquarter has definitely changed over the years. Brands such as Hugo Boss and Costa have gone, while the first floor has been taken over by the Liverpool Music Academy (LMA), the Everyman Cinema and GPO until its closure. When the ECHO visited the Metquarter this afternoon, there were just as many students there as shoppers.
On the ground floor, husband and wife Alan and Deb Leyhye were enjoying a coffee at Antonio’s Caffetteria Dantonio, a traditional Italian coffee shop. The couple know the owner well and enjoy coming to the Metquarter, but they feel something is missing.
Deb, 70, said: “To me, it’s really nice and everything but it doesn’t seem very crowded. You don’t get many people in here, and I don’t think people know what’s in here until they come in.”
Alan added: “We used to go in some of the old shops – the clothes shops, the jewellers and they’ve all gone now. I thought they were doing okay. There are good shops still here, it’s all spotless, it’s got security on the guards. It’s got security. You think it’s got everything in place. Maybe everybody just goes to Liverpool ONE instead.”
In its statement on the closure of GPO, the Metquarter argued the shopping centre is still “a significant leisure and food destination within the city centre.” A spokesperson added: “Combined with other available units within the building we can create an even larger offer going forward. We believe that this location is perfect for ambitious operators who want to deliver quality restaurant and leisure concepts and several discussions are already underway.”
This more positive outlook is shared by Bethan Flannagan. The 32-year-old from Everton runs Buy By Bethan which makes custom-made clothes, as well as All Over the Shop which brings together young fashion creatives in the city.
Bethan was surprised to hear about GPO closing. She said: “It was a total shock to be honest. I was here last night – me and someone else I work went there and the shutters were down. I think it’s such a good idea and it seems to work in other parts of Liverpool. I’ve been there quite a few times myself and the food in a lot of the vendors was really nice.”
The Metquarter offered Bethan the chance to run a pop-up shop in an empty unit and she was delighted to accept, even though she feels it can be overlooked compared to other shopping destinations in the city. Bethan said: “I remember it opening coming to Mac when I was in school and being so excited at coming. I think it’s such a lovely building as well. It’s really luxurious looking and there’s so many independent Liverpool based businesses here.
“It’s just trying to get the traffic back in. It seems strange because there’s people you speak to and you say, ‘it’s in the Metquarter,’ and they go, ‘I don’t know who that is’. These are people who are Scousers of my age or older. I think more people should try and come in here, and maybe there’s an opportunity for other things to be going on.”
“I’ve noticed The Metquarter has got a really nice community spirit amongst the tenants. It’s just such a shame to see empty shops on the high street but it gives good opportunities for creatives like me who maybe wouldn’t be able to afford to rent a space with the cost of living as it is at the moment.
“It’s nice to get out and meet people and chat and that’s why I’ve got an open door policy when I’m working here. I want to be able to come in, have a chat. Sometimes people come in and say hello to my dog.”
Similarly Adam Cummings from Tribal Society says the Metquarter have helped his business massively. Through a combination of regular social media updates, viral stunts and simple offering, the 32-year-old from Old Swan says it now makes 10 times more at its Liverpool store than its Chester shop or website.
The brand has become known for giving away loads of their stock for free every few months which gather large queues and encourage people to come to its store, which opened in October 2021. It is planning another on November 29 for Black Friday in a currently secret location.
He said: “With GPO, we didn’t get anyone coming in who’d been there. Things like the Blackstock Market and the Chester Market have shown things like that can work though.
“With retail, you’ve got to move with the times. We sell clothes in one size that fits all. We started selling these sunglasses chains for £2 each of three for £5. We’ve sold over £50,000 now. We had a guy in here the other day who started with these and now wanted to buy one of our coats that’s over £100.
“The Metquarter has always helped us. If it was a mess I could understand complaining, but it’s spotless and there’s always security on the door. When we moved here we had about 4,500 followers on our social platforms. Now we have over 100,000.”
It appears that shops in the Metquarter are looking ahead for the future rather than nervously looking over their shoulder. Brendan from Transalpino added: “It’s just worrying times for the high street. Places are suddenly closing and going into festive season more people ending up on the dole.
“We’re always trying new stuff and progress. We’ve got a new range with Jamie Webster and I’ll be off on tour with him around Europe soon. I’ve grown up in retail and markets. We’re competing with the internet now but we’ll stick with it.”