I'm devastated my favourite Liverpool bar Petit Café has closed and worried about the future of Allerton Road

Towards the end of January, I wrote about a wave of restaurant closures impacting Liverpool, with the city already saying goodbye to The Italian Club Fish, Almost Famous, Viva Brazil and KaiBaiBo this year.

I discussed how it feels like we’re constantly being hit with the news of shock closures and how many businesses are noting the ongoing cost of living crisis as one of the main causes of their restaurants going under.

Now, my all-time favourite bar in Liverpool has shut with immediate effect and I’m genuinely devastated. Devastation likely seems an overreaction but Allerton Road has lost one of its most-loved venues and it makes me really worry for the future of the street.

Petit Café Du Quartier announced its closure on Monday (February 4), with owners DGB Hospitality stating: “We do not want to dilute the product we offer, and consolidating our other two locations made the most sense.”

While I understand the reasoning behind the closure to some extent, I am genuinely shocked as the Allerton Road site always seemed busy and I often struggled to get a seat on a busy evening or a sunny summer day.

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The quaint wine bar was genuinely my favourite in the city and I would also choose to visit the South Liverpool venue over the Berry Street or Lark Lane branch as I loved the outdoor seating out front and felt the service was always great regardless of how busy it could get.

Summertime for me always meant a French Martini - or three - at Petit Café followed by a vegan takeaway from Yummy Green.

The issue is wider than just one bar though, with Allerton Road losing losing Greenhouse Social (formerly Hope & Smoke), Tacola, Interesting Eating Company and Yummy Green in the last year.

While The Blackburne recently opened its second venue on the street and Pilgrim is set to open in the near future, I worry that the location is losing its appeal and footfall will only continue to decline.

I recently contacted Liverpool City Council to ask for its thoughts on much-loved restaurants going under and to see if it has any plans to support small businesses but I am yet to receive a response.