A much-loved independent Liverpool shop featured in a huge Christmas TV campaign without most people realising.
Dafna’s Cheesecake factory on Smithdown Road may be a South Liverpool hidden gem, but it was part of Visa UK’s Christmas campaign in 2018.
It was the year their classic Christmas TV advert featuring independent shop owners singing along to Maria Carey’s ‘All I want for Christmas is You’ came out.
The advert, which was Visa’s first go at making a big Christmas advert in the UK, became an instant classic.
Made by ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, it aimed to encourage shoppers to support their high streets.
Dafna’s didn’t quite make the cut for the final advert itself, but still featured as part of Visa’s 'Keep it Local at Christmas' campaign that accompanied it.
Many South Liverpool residents will recognise Dafna’s Cheese cake Factory as one of the most well known shops on Smithdown Road.
In 2019, however, after more than 40 years of baking cheese cakes, Anne Lev - the shop’s original owner - decided to hang up her apron and retire.
The foundations for Dafna’s Cheese Cake Factory began when Anne started making cakes at home while working as a teacher in the early 1970s.
She had such good feedback from family and friends that she started selling them in a local deli.
Further inspiration came from her children, who were reading popular Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the time.
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Within five years she was making so many, she opened her own shop on Smithdown Road, where it remains today.
Thankfully Dafna’s Cheese Cake Factory continued when Anne retired.
Their loyal customers breathed a sigh of relief as the shop was taken over by Helen Bond, who had been the manager there for the previous five years.
