Frodsham Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We will be profiling some of these local businesses and organisations regularly over the coming weeks in a feature called 'Up Close In Frodsham'.

Today we caught up with Katie Palmer, owner of brew + tucker coffee shop.

Brew + tucker aims to bring the best of Australian coffee culture to Frodsham, with its bright and airy café space, fresh food, and welcoming, community oriented atmosphere.

Why Australian? you might ask.

Well, Katie lived in Australia for 4 years, "and it's where I learnt to love coffee," she explains.

"It's also where I met my lovely friend that I initially set up the business up with.

"We used to work in advertising so we'd find any excuse we could to go out and find the newest, coolest, quirkiest coffee shops that Sydney had to offer.

"I never really drank coffee before I went to Australia, but I tried a flat white over there and I was sold.

"It wasn't just the coffee, it was the fresh food that came with it, and the whole culture that surrounds it over there.

Australian coffee shops are: "Spaces where people can meet friends, catch up with family, read a book in peace and quiet or do some work away from the office, and that's what we've tried to achieve here.

"Aussies have such a great, laid-back approach to life...something I don't naturally have! But it must have rubbed off or I don't think I'd have ever taken the leap to open up my own business!"

When she came back to the UK, Katie chose Frodsham as the perfect location for her new venture, and in 2017, brew + tucker was born.

According to Katie, "[Frodsham] has such a wonderful sense of community that you just don't get in the big cities, and that community spirit is a core part of our business. We have made so many friends along our journey and we love that.

To give their coffee a unique flavour, the brew + tucker team developed their own house blend, the product of "a day with our roasters, trying numerous different blends until we found our perfect match. A lovely, smooth, caramel-ly flavour.

"We must have drunk over 30 cups of coffee that day. Suffice to say I was a little hyper afterwards!" Katie adds.

Thanks to its quality coffee and friendly staff – not to mention its delicious, home-baked banana bread! - brew + tucker soon established itself as a popular Frodsham attraction.

"I'm really proud of what we've achieved. [Brew + tucker] has become so much more than I had hoped," Katie tells me. "It evolves all the time, which I love. I'm not sure we'll ever be 'done' but it's already exceeded all expectations.

"My favourite part is our regulars (around 80% of our customer base) whose names we know, whose orders we remember and whose lives we hear all about."

It is these loyal customers who have helped keep the café running through this difficult year.

"We made the decision not to open for takeaway during lockdown, instead taking the time to do a thorough deep clean and work through all the procedures required to re-open safely," Katie says.

"It was a really scary time, but thanks to the support of our amazing customers things are starting to return to normal, which we are beyond grateful for.

"We have managed to keep hold of all of our staff - the best staff anyone could wish for, might I add - and have even employed an extra pair of hands!"

Customers can buy brew + tucker's house blend in person and online.