The St Helens tearoom under new leadership with community at its heart

Whistles café on Walmesley Road in Eccleston has been a staple of the community for many years, particularly for those looking for a quiet venue for a brew, cake and delicious breakfasts.

Inside Whistles (Image: newsquest)

The venue was taken over by former employee Nicola Lancaster last year following the previous owner's retirement.

And the mum-of-one has put a few changes in place, aiming to create events that make it more of a community hub.

The venue, now open six days a week from 9am to 3pm, has retained all the staff, taking on an additional five and increased capacity with more tables for guests.

Nicola, 40, from Dentons Green, said: “I grew up a stone's throw from here when it was a sweet shop, so to come and work here was lovely and I just really felt that I found something I really loved doing.

“So when the previous owner said she was retiring, I had a word with my husband and we decided as a family to take it on ourselves.

“It’s been great so far, the key to its success is the staff really, a lot of people come here for the atmosphere as well as the food and drinks we serve because we have friendly staff who you can talk to.

“Especially since Covid we’ve found that particularly older customers may want to come in for a chat as well and we love welcoming our regulars as much as new people. It’s a lovely area to be in.”

Nicola sells fresh cakes baked by herself as well as traybakes by local baker The Unglammy Mammy. Whistles also serves afternoon teas.

She added: “Whistles was already a great place, we’ve made a few changes to improve where we can but we love the diverse group of people that come in here.

“The Nest over the road send a lot of mums and babies here, particularly on Friday’s which is lovely, we aim to be accessible for everyone.

“The feedback from the customers is great, we are a family taking over a family business which is nice and we are this year raising money for St Helens Mind, we aim to give back to the community too.”

Next week ahead of King Charles III's coronation, Whistles tearoom will be offering cream teas costing £13.50 each from Tuesday, May 2 to Friday, May 5.