A mum of two from Darwen said her dreams have come true as she is set to open an all-new coffeehouse in the town centre – welcoming the whole community to make friends.
Sophia Robertson, 29, will be opening her new adventure, 1617 Coffeehouse in the second week of January and it isn’t just going to be any old coffee shop.
She said it will be a place for new mums with special coffee mornings, SEND parents, a place that allows pets and a place allowing people to completely switch off from the outside world.
Sophia said she never took the plunge to go out and do it for herself and the venture came after her husband, Jamie, found the perfect location.
She said: “I’m a mother of two and whilst I was on maternity with both my children, I got post-natal depression because being on maternity is a really lonely but exciting time and I just had no where I could go to meet mummy friends.
“My son is also autistic and as a SEND parent I feel like I don’t have anyone to talk to, there is nowhere in Darwen that holds groups for mums who want to rant and also be excited about the littlest of things their child has done.
“I used to work at Costa Coffee at the Chill Factore, I was the assistant manager for about seven years and then I wanted a change of scenery so went to work at a call centre.
"Then when I came back off maternity I worked with my mum at a café and I fell back into loving what I used to do, and then I had all these ideas of what I wanted to do and there was just nowhere for people to go and meet people.
“I was ranting to my husband, and he went out and he sorted it for me, and I’ll be forever grateful, I thought there was something missing in the community, and it just started from there.”
Sophia got inspiration for the name of the business, 1617 Coffeehouse, from her two children who were born on December 16 and 17 and she hopes to offer a family friendly place for people to relax and bring their families.
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She said although she is starting the business, she is still a mum, and she wants this to shine throughout.
Freshly baked pastries, bagels and breakfast items will be on the menu alongside mouth-watering cakes, scones, teacakes, and authentic Italian coffee.
The new coffeehouse will be situated on Belgrave Square on the main road, transforming the previous barber shop into the ‘prettiest coffeehouse ever’.
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