When Nettle Café opened its doors in Port Sunlight, it was more than a new spot for great food – the social business signalled the arrival of fresh energy and new community connections in one of the Wirral’s most historic villages.
Within its first year there, Nettle has grown from two staff to 12 developed a network of local suppliers and begun to shape a new social hub. But behind the momentum, 27-year-old-founder Julia Strelczuk is honest and ambitious about the reality of running a growing socially-trading organisation (STO).
Julia describes the move to Port Sunlight as intentional, strategic – and serendipitous. “Port Sunlight was a very calculated decision. This place is perfect for a café. You could see the demand at the garden centre down the road,” she explains. “It’s really unique and gorgeous – perfect for my brand. I wanted to be closer to nature and this spot offered exactly that. A huge part of my decision was the team behind Port Sunlight. They’re really intentional about who they want here and how they build the village.”
A café with community at its core
From the beginning, Nettle was never just about food. It was about creating a place where people could gather, learn and reconnect. “You notice the absence of connection when there’s not shared space,” Julia says. “Third spaces give people somewhere to meet, talk, work and pause. It’s about far more than coffee. Even within our team, those small shared moments can make a real difference to morale.”
“February is when I want to kick off the social impact side of our work – collaborating with Grow Wellbeing, wood carving clubs and making it easier for local skill-sharers to teach what they do. We’ve got a herbalist, a fisherman, beekeepers.”
Nettle already offers free venue hire for local makers and therapeutic sessions. “Tomorrow we’ve got Amy teaching people how to make rings from scratch – 14 people sitting together for four hours, relaxing and making something by hand. A traditional, fading skill, coming back to life.
One of Nettle’s key metrics for measuring its impact is simple but powerful: How much space can it give away for free to create social value?
From Kickstarter to Kindred
Julia didn't set out intending to run a café. Her journey wound through filmmaking, cafés, banks and a difficult period with her health. Everything changed when she typed ‘nature jobs’ into Google and stumbled upon a ‘Kickstarter’ apprentice role at Grow Wellbeing. “That was pivotal,” she nods. “I didn’t even know what a socially-trading organisation was. It has helped me realise that my own health journey – finding healing through nature – could become something bigger: a business that does good. Turning a difficult chapter into a physical space that supports others has completely changed how I see that part of my life. I’m genuinely grateful for it now.”
Now, she describes herself as the ‘granddaughter of Kindred’ – shaped by early exposure to STOs, mentoring and the community of businesses around her. And then the opportunity to run the café at Make Hamilton, where Grow was based, appeared. She started with almost nothing: “I was in my overdraft. I borrowed £1,000 from an ex-boyfriend. But I decided the worst thing that could happen was I’d get a normal job again.”
The low-risk model let her experiment, learn about margins, test menus and build confidence. “People kept coming back simply for fresh cooking,” she says. “Now our staff are trained to talk about our food, our farmers, our suppliers. People want to know the story behind what they’re eating.” When Make relocated to its new Argyle Street home she made the decision to close – and within half an hour, Port Sunlight came calling.
“It was probably one of the most difficult and stressful times,” Julia admits. But support came quickly. “I got a boost of confidence from Port Sunlight’s commitment to lending me money for the renovations and Kindred’s investment supported the move. I didn’t have anything confirmed when I started looking around – I just said, ‘I’ll figure the money out somehow.’”
Mentors helped her replace doubt with data: “Collecting as much data as possible eases the anxiety – seasonal patterns, customer behaviour, forecasts. Seeing it visually made me feel okay.” She also reached out to business owners – “people I barely knew” – buying coffees, asking questions, building a network. “Most of my friends are business owners now,” she laughs.
As the new café was approaching its launch, Julia joined Wirral Council’s Accelerate Wirral programme and was matched with a mentor. “Planning permission was delayed; there were problems with the meter; I was in charge of the electrics and the floor plans and it was bonkers. I really needed someone to speak to and it was so good to have that grounding element – to be able to talk about launch strategy,” she says. “I ended up paying for more coaching myself,” she adds.
Within a year, Nettle’s impact is already clear:
- 13 jobs created, including opportunities for people new to hospitality
- Training pathways for people struggling to access work
- Free venue hire for makers, creatives and therapeutic practitioners
- A growing peer community of local suppliers and skill-sharers
- A physical hub for connection in an increasingly digital world
“Even though we’re so easily connected, we’re more disconnected than ever,” Julia says. “I’m hoping this helps a little.” And the business is working commercially too: “We make people happy and are profitable as well,” she says. She knows how important diversification is for the business: the bookshop, venue hire, workshops and a social media presence reaching more than 250,000 people around the grand opening.
Julia is clear about the tension between momentum and sustainability. “There’s always the balance between going with the momentum you’ve got and making sure you don’t fall,” she says. “Founders take things so personally. I’m learning to rest – I literally have to book trips away or I’ll override any time I book off to relax.”
The future is full of possibility: more workshops, a larger skills programme and an upstairs studio ‘if things go to plan’. But the message she wants others to hear is simple:
“If I can do it, anyone can do it.”