It is located next door to its sister venue – an award-winning restaurant
A beautiful Merseyside coffee and patisserie shop that opened weeks ago has seen customers travel miles to visit. Located on Shop Road in Knowsley Village, Jerry’s Place Coffee & Patisserie officially opened its doors on June 18 and serves everything from specialty coffees to delicious sweet treats. Owned by Donna Leary and her partner Tony, the shop is situated next door to the family’s other business, the award-winning Antonio’s Bar & Grill restaurant.
Since opening in 2020, Antonio’s, which is housed in a former Earl of Derby Estate Cottage, has been named winner of The Good Food Awards, as well as Restaurant of the Year twice at the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards.
The dog-friendly venue is named after the couple’s Maltese dog Jerry, who died last year. Donna, who lives in Knowsley Village, said the idea for the space next to Antonio’s immediately came to her as a way to celebrate the life of their loved family dog.
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She told the ECHO: “We had a little Maltese dog called Jerry and we lost him on October 7 last year. It’s been really tough – when something’s being part of your life for 13-and-a-half years, it’s quite hard to just let it go
“The space was just an office that we didn’t really use and I just got up the next morning on October 8 and said to Tony, I’m opening a coffee shop in Jerry’s memory. It’s going to be dog friendly and I’m calling it Jerry’s Place.
“It just came from nowhere, really – it was never like anything that we’d spoke about for a long time. It just came to me because we used to love taking Jerry with us for a coffee and a little pastry, anywhere where was dog friendly.”
The mum-of-two said she designed inside the shop, with Tony starting the work to make their vision a reality back in February. Opening a few weeks ago, the coffee and patisserie has a “Parisian café vibe “and has lovely photos of the late Jerry decorating the walls.
Donna said: “Everyone has been saying how cute it is inside and there’s all pictures of Jerry on the wall as you go in. I’ve kind of tried to keep it within the same style as Antonio’s, so it all matches, but I wanted it to feel homely inside, with a little bit of a Paris vibe.
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“Someone’s already mentioned to me that it does give them little Paris vibes. The response so far is just amazing.
“People have said the village needs it, why didn’t you do it sooner. Everyone’s really loving it so it’s all positive.
“When you see the sign above the shop, there’s a dicky bow going over the top of the J for Jerry because my favourite picture in the whole world is on the wall when you go in and he’s got a little black dicky bow on.” Inside, customers can enjoy everything from matcha and coffees to tea, pastries and more.
The team serve speciality Crosby Coffee and pastries from Liverpool-based The Butterholic, as well as cheesecakes from the Liverpool Cheesecake Company. Attracting customers from the village, Donna said she has already seen people travel from further across Merseyside to visit.
She said: “Someone filmed in here and put it on TikTok the other day and the queues are just flooding and flooding. It’s quite overwhelming – but I’m obviously really proud.
“My daughter shared the coffee shop the other day and she just said to me, I’m really proud of you. That just makes you want to do better for your kids.
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“It’s like leaving like a legacy behind for your children to say, remember mum did that or dad did that. It just makes your heart very happy.” While the venue prides itself on being dog-friendly, Donna said she also wants the space to be a place for the community and to help tackle loneliness.
She said: “I think for me, Jerry’s Place was just something for the community and there’s a lot of elderly people around here who are lonely and I think if they can pop in for a little cup and someone to chat to for half an hour, a couple of times a week, it’s a just a really nice thing.
“It’s lovely as well because you hear so many people saying you can’t take your dog to so many places, so it’s nice for them to be able to walk, actually walk in and get a cup of coffee or a little pastry and even sit inside with the dog. I’m just proud of all of it.
“I’m just proud that my children are proud, to be honest. And I feel really proud and feel really happy that I’ve got our little Jerry’s name above the door.”
