A Wigan care village has launched its own cafe for the whole community to enjoy
Standish Care Village launches The Village Bean, a new community café where residents and the local community can come together for coffee and conversation.
A Wigan care community is opening the doors of its new café tomorrow (Friday August 14), and everyone is welcome to pop by for a cuppa.
Not just residents and families, but neighbours, dog walkers, school-run parents, community groups and anyone in the vicinity of Standish Care Village who fancies a decent coffee and a sit down at the Village Bean.
Set in the heart of the village, between the three care homes that share the site, The Village Bean is a converted horsebox café serving Rijo coffee, hot and cold drinks, pastries and snacks daily.
It was named by the residents who live here, and residents will be behind the counter taking orders and making the coffees.
Standish Care Village brings three of Millennium Care’s homes together on a single site. Langtree, Lakeside and Worthington Lake care homes. The Village Bean gives all three a shared front room.
Residents can step out of their own home and meet neighbours from the homes next door over a coffee, rather than staying within four walls.
It is open on the same terms to the people who keep the village running: care staff, senior teams and home managers sat down together, alongside the suppliers, tradespeople and delivery drivers who come through each week.
The Village Bean was designed around a simple picture: a mum and a grandma sitting with a coffee in the sunshine while the children play on the climbing frame a few steps away.
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren having somewhere to play along with drinks and snacks, changes what a visit feels like for everyone.
Standish Care Village aims to make visits feel more like ordinary family time and less like an appointment.
For families, the cafe also offers something quieter but just as valuable: the chance to meet other families.
The name was chosen by residents themselves, who have been involved in the project from day one. This is a working cafe, with real customers and a real job to do, that residents are invited to help run it.
Residents will have the opportunity to work behind the counter as baristas: setting up in the morning, preparing the cafe, taking orders, making drinks and serving the people who come through the village each day.
For many, that means the return of something they have not had in a long time: a routine, a reason to get up, a role that other people rely on, and the quiet satisfaction of having contributed.
That is what person-centred care looks like in practice: recognising the ordinary things that give a day its shape, which are choice, purpose, conversation and the dignity of meaningful work.
Sarah Smith, executive assistant at Millennium Care, said:
“We’ve always wanted Standish Care Village to be somewhere people genuinely come together, not just somewhere people reside. The Village Bean does that, it gives residents, families, our teams and the wider community one place to meet, have a brew and get to know each other properly.
“What makes me proudest is that the residents named it themselves and will play a part in running it.
“Giving someone a real role, with real responsibility and real customers, is one of the most powerful things you can do for a person’s sense of purpose.”