Chippies, Pints & Turnstiles: Matchday Life Around Goodison

The matchday magic that lived and breathed in the streets around Goodison will never fade. For well over a century, matchday has meant more than football. It’s meant grabbing a portion of chips from the chippy with your grandad, sharing a pint with mates before kickoff, having a chat with someone you've never met but always see in the same spot. It’s the turnstile clicks, the songs rising from pubs, the smell of pies, the scarves blowing in the breeze. This community, memory, and ritual is stitched deep into Everton’s identity.

So, before the final whistle blows on Goodison's last game, here’s a look at the places that have made matchday special — the unsung cathedrals of our Saturdays, the beating heart of L4.

Just across from Turnstiles 7 and 8 stands the mighty Winslow Hotel – The People’s Pub – the unofficial living room of Goodison Park. Don’t be fooled by the name; it’s not a hotel (hasn’t been since the 1940s), but it is home – to generations of Blues. Just a short stroll from the ground is The Spellow and The Brick – beating hearts of Everton matchdays.

You can’t talk matchday without chips – and Lucky’s Blue Dragon Chippy is legendary. Sitting at 15 Goodison Road, opposite the Main Stand, it’s the spiritual scran stop for Blues of all ages. Chinese, fish, chips – whatever fills your belly before the whistle blows. As one fan put it: “I’ll miss being outside Turnstile 72 eating Blue Dragon with my mates.” It’s a taste memory tied forever to the matchday experience.

There’s nowhere in the world like St Luke’s. A church built right into a football ground, located between the Gwladys Street End and Goodison Road stands. As well as serving the community of the small but densely populated parish, the church enjoys a great relationship with Everton Football Club and the supporters. It’s where memories live. Where fans light candles for loved ones.

In the shadow of Goodison, every home game saw Fans Supporting Foodbanks set up beside the FanZone – a grassroots initiative that brought Reds and Blues together to tackle food insecurity in the local community. Supporters would drop off tins and other non-perishable goods on their way to the match, a simple act that spoke volumes. Evertonians, known for their strong sense of solidarity and compassion, were always at the heart of this effort – proving that football is about more than just the game.

Outside St Luke’s and the Park End stand two bronze shrines to Everton greatness. The Holy Trinity – Ball, Harvey, and Kendall – immortalised together as the heartbeat of the club’s golden era. And just yards away, the iconic Dixie Dean, 60-goal hero, watching over Goodison as he always has. Even when the stands fall quiet, these statues will stand – silent sentinels of Everton’s legacy.

No sign. No menu. Just a blue shutter, a counter, and a queue, the tiny Hole In The Wall near the Gwladys Street Stand has fed thousands over the years. A cup of tea or a bacon butty in one hand, a programme in the other – it’s a rite of passage.

Bramley-Moore Dock may be the future – a stunning waterfront stadium built for a new era. But the past still matters. The memories matter. The old rituals, the familiar rhythms shared by generations of Blues – they still matter. It’s our duty to carry those traditions with us to the waterfront and never forget this L4 haven. Many fans plan to keep their matchday routines alive, helped by the shuttle buses that link the old ground with the new.

For those who won’t be making that journey, we hope you’ll still return whenever you can – to support the local pubs, chippies, and businesses that have served us for decades. There’s every reason to keep visiting the old place from time to time.

The Goodison Legacy Project aims to create lasting social value for the area and its communities. Let’s hope it lives up to that promise – but as with most things in life, much of it will come down to us.

Onward, Evertonians!

 

Tell your friends!

Refer them to this easy-to-remember address: evertontimes.com/goodison. This is an important historical document for future generations who will never know what Goodison Park was like unless we record the memories and pass them on through the generations.

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