'Buzzing' parade of shops people are flocking to on 'quiet' residential street

A small parade of shops on a residential street is drawing visitors from across the city for food, flowers and friendliness. In the past couple of years, several new businesses have opened up on Dovedale Road, including barbershop Strop and Blade, bagel shop the Bagelry, Laura's Deli and Jomsom Nepalese Restaurant.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, the ECHO took a trip to Mossley Hill to see what all the fuss is about. Our first port of call was Dovedale Florist, where we spoke to owner Paula Reed, who has lived in Mossley Hill all her life and is over the moon about recent additions to the area. Paula told us: "It's been so good recently because all the new businesses have opened up here - it's really livened up this block."

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Dovedale Florist is a well-established business in Mossley Hill, having been open for 25 years. Paula says the key to the shop's success is putting people first. "We put our heart and soul into everything we do," she says, "and we like to try and help people. We never send flowers out we wouldn't receive ourselves and one of our sayings is 'if in doubt, chuck it out'.

"Lots of people call in for a chat here - or for a bit of counselling," she laughs. Bang on cue, a neighbour pops her head around the shop door. "I'm just going down to Tesco", she says. "Do you want anything while I'm there?" According to Paula, friends and neighbours stop in several times a day. "She's just stopping in for a natter. We've got a lovely community here."

Further down the street at Laura's Deli, we speak to shop owner Laura McCumiskey, who agrees with Paula about the sense of community on Dovedale Road. She told us: "We work together really well and try to shop in each other's businesses and send our own customers there too. My little boy goes to Ben the barber for his hair, and I always go to Paula for flowers and next-door to get my hair done, and they come here for coffee. It's like its own little micro-economy."

Laura opened the deli in July last year, choosing Dovedale over busy Allerton Road. Since then, the area has undergone a dramatic transformation. She explained: "When we arrived, this building was a complete wreck, and the barbers was empty, Jomsom was empty - it was empty, empty, empty.

"My husband said, I think you're absolutely round the bend taking that place over Allerton Road! But once we signed, it sparked a chain of others signing too, so it's become a nice little local shopping parade and a bit of a destination for people.

"They'll go to Jomsom, to the Bagelry for breakfast, and then they'll come in here to pick up food. At Christmas, they'll go to Paula for their wreaths and in here for their foodie gifts and wine."

Laura stocks an amazing array of food and drink that you wouldn't find in many supermarkets. Alongside deli staples like olives, wine and chocolate, you'll see jars of lemon-drop chilli sauce and smoked bacon jam. According to Laura, one of her bestsellers is miso caramel popcorn, imported from New York.

She says the shop is "always busy", and people haven't been put off going there by the cost of living crisis. "We've been lucky," she says. "We haven't been impacted by the crisis in the same way as the hospitality sector. We kind of straddle retail and hospitality. People are willing to spend a little bit more because they're not going out. They think, I'm going to stay in and get nice things to eat at home instead."

When the business first opened up, they mainly relied on local customers, but they are increasingly drawing in people from all over. "People will come to us for obscure food items and ingredients they can't get their hands on, and for gifts too", she explains.

The area is steeped in musical history, and tourists also stop by after visiting nearby Penny Lane. Dovedale Primary School, which John Lennon and George Harrison attended, is just down the road, and legendary pub the Dovedale Towers where Freddie Mercury once lived, is a stone's throw away.

It is hard to argue with barber Ben Cornwall's assessment. He told us: "There's a nice buzz here, it's a really nice, proper community." Like Laura, Ben opened his barbershop, Strop and Blade, last July and has seen a steady stream of customers come in.

"It's been going great," he says. "I chose Dovedale for the potential of it. It's close to Allerton Road but a lot quieter and more residential. You don't want to be on a high street if you're a barbershop. You don't rely on passing trade - it's more customers coming back to you."

After living in Hackney in London for a few years, Ben decided to return home to Liverpool to set up his business and doesn't regret it for a second. "The cost of living in London is too high," he explained, "and to be quite honest, Liverpool had everything London had and more".