Beloved city centre pub The Beehive has confirmed its closing date.
The traditional watering hole, based on Paradise Street, is set to close down this month and relaunch following a "substantial investment". A sign in the window confirms its final day of trading will be February 15.
The popular venue has been a firm fixture in the city, in one capacity or another, for more than a century. During its tenure, it has maintained a loyal group of regulars, as well as staff that have worked at the venue for years.
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The Greene King venue is instantly recognisable, standing out from the sleek and modern buildings of Liverpool ONE with its traditional frontage and old fashioned charm, but it's set for a complete revamp. The bar area, lounge and toilets will all be transformed, and there'll also be new fixtures, fittings, and signage.
A sign in the window reads: "We will cease trading on Wednesday 15th February[.] We would like to say a massive thank you to all our customers for your custom and support over the years". It's signed off from "Fran & the bees".
Landlady Frances Lloyd told the ECHO she was "gutted" to be leaving the popular pub, after being unable to carry on behind the bar after a series of devastating personal setbacks. In 2020, her husband died of covid after working alongside her for years.
Then, she suffered a stroke leaving her "physically unable" to complete many of the manual tasks often required in a pub, and bar work in general. Frances, 65, said: "If I hadn't been ill or lost my husband, I would never have given up my lease. My husband died of covid - right at the beginning - and doing the pub on my own after all those years together was really hard going.
"Then, dealing with the stress of all that, I think led to the stroke. I would never have left ever, I would have got another lease. I haven't got the strength anymore otherwise I would still be behind that bar.
"I see my staff doing it and I'm not physically able to join in or help them do it anymore which hurts - that's the reason I'm getting out. It's going from me to another couple - it's not going to be a traditional pub as such, they're moving with the times. It's not my pub, it's Greene King's so I don't get a say in it."
Images on Greene King's website show the proposed changes to the venue, including new frontage and a reconfigured layout of the surprisingly spacious interior. The pub is often rammed with customers, from locals to tourists from across the globe who make a point of returning to the pub whenever they visit Liverpool.
It's set to shut up shop and then relaunch following a "substantial investment". According to Greene King's website, the new Beehive "will be aimed at the 18-50 market with a focus on live sport".
It also states on the website: 'The pub is currently dated and the investment will seek to improve all areas of the site. The bar area, lounge and toilets will all be completely overhauled, as well as there being all new fixtures and fittings and signage.'
A Greene King spokesperson said: "We have plans to renovate The Beehive and give it a new lease of life as a pub the local community can be proud of and which future generations can enjoy for years to come. It's early days and we hope to provide more details in the future." The Beehive is based at 7 Paradise Street, Liverpool, L1 3BL.
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