Beloved eatery Mansells revived by care home

MEMORIES of a cherished Ellesmere Port eatery have been revived following the official opening of a care home’s dementia friendly café Mansells.

Aaron Court Care Home, on Princes Road, has named its new facility Mansells, after a now closed restaurant and café on Cambridge Road.

The opening ceremony at the home was attended by the town’s MP Justin Madders and Deputy Mayor Cllr Paul Donovan.

Residents, friends and families of those living and working at the home also joined the event – many of them with memories of the new café’s namesake.

The original Mansells opened as a grocery store, then later a takeaway and finally café and restaurant, before closing.

Aaron Court Care Home activities coordinator Amy Jones posted a message on popular Facebook group Pride in the Port as part of her research into the café.

The post received more than three dozen responses from former employees and patrons with fond memories.

Amy said: “We picked the name Mansells following a bit of local research.

“When I mentioned the name to the residents, to see if they knew it, they all were able to reminisce about it.

“Thanks to the Facebook group Pride in the Port, lots of people have come forward with pictures and information on the café, as I couldn’t find anything online at all.

“The response has been amazing, but we’d still like to get more information and photos if anyone out there has anything.

“We’d also love to hear from the family who owned and ran Mansells but we believe they may have emigrated and now live in Sydney, Australia.

“The photos and stories help our residents reminisce, which can be very therapeutic for those living with dementia, in particular.”

The care home’s new dementia friendly café is open to all visitors who would like to share a cuppa with residents at the care home as well as share memories of the former Mansells.

Lindsey Bevan, home manager at Aaron Court Care Home, said: “We’d like to say a big thank you to Justin Madders MP and Deputy Mayor Cllr Paul Donovan for officially opening our new dementia friendly café.

“Our Mansells is already a big hit with residents, family members and friends and we’re sure it will live up to the legacy of the original, which was so popular in Ellesmere Port.”