New city centre venue that 'offers something completely different' opens

A new venue has opened in Liverpool city centre that's described as offering "something completely different."

Switch CoffeeBar, in Wolstenholme Square, offers coffee from 8am everyday until the "switch" at 5pm where the venue starts serving cocktails. By day, Switch serves up flat whites, cortado, espresso, latte, cappuccino, Americano, mocha, espresso tonic, espresso orange, and a selection of iced coffees including iced mocha, iced latte, iced Americano, iced espresso tonic, nitro cold brew and affogato.

For those who prefer alternatives to coffee, the café will also serve hot chocolate, chai latte and a selection of teas. All drinks are available for takeaway or for guests to sit in, with staff welcoming business meetings, coffee dates with friends, pit stops whilst shopping or for those who work remotely.

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Owner, John Dunnington, decided to open the venue after living in New York and coming across similar concepts. When he returned home to Liverpool he couldn't find anything that filled the gap. Transitioning from day to night, the coffee shop and cocktail bar will then serve cocktails from 5pm.

Standouts from the cocktail list include classics such as a coffee Old Fashioned, ‘The’ Espresso Martini, Irish Coffee, White Russian and there’s also Switch CoffeeBar’s new clarified Pina Colada. Where possible the venue's head mixologist has incorporated used coffee beans to reduce waste.

Jon, who relocated to America in 2016, said: "Switch was born out of a passion for coffee and wanting to introduce my experience of living in New York with Liverpool." He added: "While drinking in and around America, I started to become really passionate about coffee and saw the opportunity to bring ideas to the North West. The idea for Switch CoffeeBar came from seeing a popular NYC-based coffee shop closed with neon lights inside.

"I thought that it would make a great bar space and on my next trip back to Liverpool, I've always come back every few months since moving, I started viewing vacant units in the Ropewalks area where I'd previously drank." Based in Wolstenholme Square, Switch CoffeeBar will transition from day to night. From coffee by day to cocktails by night, it will provide a relaxed afternoon venue by day before the venue makes the "switch into an evening ambiance."

Guests visiting after 5pm will also have the chance to make their very own Espresso ‘My-Tini’. Picking from alcohol including vodka, tequila, Malibu, Cointreau, Rm, Gin and bourbon, before opting for caffeinated or decaf.

Then customers can decided if they would like it milky with Baileys or black, before adding a flavour from a list of syrups including orange, vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, chocolate, mint, coconut and banana and finally, garnishing with cocoa dust, shaved chocolate, coconut rim or three coffee beans.

Each form is put into an envelope and attached to the guest’s ‘My-Tini’ with the chance to win a free cocktail or complimentary coffee for their next visit. Operations manager, Joe Jackson, said: "We’re delighted to have opened our doors in the heart of Liverpool’s Ropewalks area.

"Switch CoffeeBar offers something completely different in the city and we’re really proud to be an excellent coffee shop by day as well as an atmospheric cocktail bar come 5pm. Whether you’re a fan of coffee or not, there’s something to suit everyone’s tastes with alternatives including hot chocolate, matcha and chai lattes, and of an evening, you can opt for decaf Espresso Martinis or go for something fruity like our own take on a Cosmopolitan or Pina Colada."

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