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 cha.