'I had chance to open Liverpool's 'smallest café' and just couldn't say no'

A man told how he went from working as a bartender to running two unique Liverpool venues. Ross Lowey, 26, from Ormskirk, has always worked in hospitality but during his time as a bartender began to notice one item was proving popular with customers.

Ross told the ECHO: “I was a cocktail bartender, and then probably about four or five years ago coffee became more popular. Then all of a sudden I was at a point where I was like, I can actually make a decent coffee.”

In October 2022, Ross and his family launched Hemingways, in Tithebarn Street, in the city centre. Initially operating as a cafe serving bacon sandwiches and English breakfasts, within six months they transformed it into a bar and the venue now hosts live music too.

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Two months ago Ross, who now lives in the Baltic Triangle, was alerted to a new opportunity by his girlfriend Lauren Carter. Lauren was doing yoga classes in a building on Stanhope Street and spotted that a small space on the ground floor of the property was empty. Ross said: “Lauren showed it to me, thinking, oh cool, look at this. I thought, that’s exactly what we need.”

Ross saw an opportunity to turn the space into a tiny cafe, serving breakfast and hot drinks to customers. He said: “I've always liked the idea of having a little hole in the wall coffee shop because it's just cute, it's cool and a bit interesting.

“So the second Lauren showed me this, I think within three or four days, we had the deposit paid and we were ready to go. We just needed to get the coffee machine in.

“There’s an event space upstairs, there's offices in here, obviously there's a few yards and you’ve got the Baltic Market. So we thought we've got to give it a good go. It seems silly not to, with the opportunities here. I would do well to find a smaller one, I'll be honest. I would happily take the claim of the smallest coffee shop in Liverpool.”

Lauren also suggested the name Ernest given the other venue was Hemingways, in tribute to the American author. Despite the abundance of other coffee shops in the area, Ross believes he can offer something unique.

He said: “You usually see these kiosks selling grab and go sweets, chocolates and stuff. But we've seen and thought we can definitely make this work. It’s a nice, simple menu with bacon, sausages, cheese toasties, ham and cheese toasties and really good coffee.

“There's a few cafes around here and the food is all boss but it's all avocado and sourdough. I'm all for that but, my view was, if you live around here and you want breakfast every day, you're not going to spend £10 on sourdough every day.

“You might spend £4 on a bacon butty every day. We just do normal food that everybody likes - things you would probably get three or four times a week rather than a little treat where you might take yourself out for breakfast and spend £30-£40 quid on a breakfast."

Ernest also offers a range of sandwiches including vegetarian options. There are two seats inside and two outside. With winter in mind, Ross offers a service where you can WhatsApp him your order and you can then pick it up at Ernest without facing a large queue. He is hoping to add more outdoor seating in the warmer months too.

Ross is surprised at the success he and his family have seen since starting Hemingways. He said: “I know about the industry, but I never thought that this would happen. Two years ago, it cropped up. We had a look at Hemingways and thought there's scope to turn it into something pretty cool which I think we have.

“Then this was a complete surprise. We didn't really have many plans to expand. Not yet, at least. But then when we saw this, they thought it's an opportunity we can't pass up on.

“The view was, if we don't, somebody else will. And then you've missed out on an opportunity, so you got to go for it.” Ernest is located on 41 Stanhope Street.