Coco Baroque Smithdown Rd

Two friends took a risk and ended up running one of Liverpool’s most unique shops. Stephen Ellis, 34, from Old Swan, used to work for a chocolate company in Liverpool with his friend Steve Renshaw.

They spent many years talking about how they would do things differently with their own firm. Speaking to the ECHO earlier this year, Stephen said the pair would be “working late” on their shifts into the night as they discussed their ideas.

Eventually, they quit their jobs and set up Coco Baroque in 2012, aiming to find a gap in the market for an artisan bakery and chocolatiers based in the city. For many years, they showcased their batches of chocolate brownies and buttons to Liverpool’s various farmers markets but were without a place to call their own.

This changed earlier this year after the sad news that Dafna’s Cheesecake Factory at 240 Smithdown Road would be closing its doors for good. Stephen and Steve had supplied chocolate to the shop for 11 years. Though they were sad that a big part of Smithdown would be no more, they were also honoured when they were given the opportunity to take over the shop and open the business’ first physical premises.

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