A café which focuses on supporting parents has opened - and customers have shared rave reviews.
Tori Johnson, 32, owner of MotherZen on Bridge Street in Ramsbottom, said she decided to open the business after noticing a gap in support services for families in Bury and the surrounding areas.
Tori moved from London three and a half years ago with her husband, who is from Bury, and when she had her child, she did not seem to have much of a support network or know where she could meet friends.
She said: “I was looking for a local children’s centre but there were only ones a bit further away so I wouldn’t particularly be able to meet up with those women I met at those children’s centres or go on walks with them as they live quite far away.
“At the time there was only a children’s centre in Radcliffe, but now there is one on Brandlesholme Road but being in a one-car family there was nothing local.
“I started going to baby classes which were great, but they were only an hour long and there was a lot less emphasis on the parents.
“It was all about the baby and singing songs to them and playing with them, which was lovely, but I wanted to get in a room full of women and have a chat.”
Tori has been a midwife for 12 years so knows about family needs, and she also has an interest in perinatal mental health.
She realised there was a lot of isolation in the early postpartum period so she wanted to create a place where new parents can come and make friends and have a chat while having something to eat and drink.
She said: “It’s a parent-centred vision really, so less about the child and more about the parents because I believe if you truly nurture a parent their cup is full to nurture their own child.”
The café has a small co-working space where parents can come in and work while keeping an eye on their child.
There will also be a few classes that parents can bring their children to, although the classes will again, be parent-focused.
Classes currently include yoga, core restore exercise classes and other things like mindful crafting.
The National Lottery have also funded two days a week, so no admission fee is needed on those days and anyone in the community is free to come, but booking is advised which people can do online.
The café opened on Friday, October 18 and Tori has been delighted with the response.
She said: “The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s been amazing, we’ve had fantastic feedback and we’re building up online reviews which is really nice.
“People have said that they didn’t know they needed it until they walked in.
“It’s one of those things that when you’re a new parent, you just roll with the punches and just try and survive sometimes.
“What I wanted MotherZen to be is a space where parents can come in and thrive and reflect about how their journey has been so far.”
The café is open six days a week, with it being closed on Mondays and open from 9.30am to 3pm from Tuesdays to Saturdays, and 10am to 12.30pm on Sundays.
Tori added: “Even though the café is called MotherZen, its open to all parents, carers, dads and grandparents. It’s not just for mothers.
“We chose that name because when people walk in, we want them to feel mothered and cared for, nurtured and looked after, but it’s for anyone to come with their children aged from birth to five."
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