Nicholas and Rachel have shared a love of great coffee since their first date and now they have opened their own business
17:54, 31 Jul 2025Updated 06:21, 01 Aug 2025
Mum Rachel and dad Nicholas with their two boys, three-year-old Lucian and and one-year-old Lorenz(Image: Michael Driffill)
The family behind a new Liverpool venue said they are “taking a massive risk” but hope they can “fill a void” in the area. Husband and wife Nicholas and Rachel Santangeli, from Maghull, are the brains behind the town’s newest coffee spot.
The two recently opened Lu&Lo Coffee on Liverpool Road North, despite neither of them having worked in the hospitality industry before. However, what they lack in experience, they make up for in enthusiasm and drive, according to dad Nicholas.
The 33-year-old, who previously worked as a head of physical development in the army, told the ECHO: “When I was leaving the army, I was thinking of leaving it all behind – everything fitness-related and just doing my own thing.
“But we’ve always had this passion for coffee. This is our first little venture into the industry, and we wanted to give things a go head-on.
The Santangeli family outside their new coffee shop(Image: Michael Driffill)
“We aren’t big drinkers, but our thing to do together is to go for a coffee. We drive to Manchester and Chester just to try new coffee shops. We’ve been together for eight years, and from day one, it has been something we have always done.
“We’ve got two young boys, and now they come with us. We throw in the park for them, and we all get a cake. It’s always been like that.”
Lu&Lo Coffee opened just two weeks ago to what Nicholas described as an “unbelievable” response. The shop is named after their sons, three-year-old Lucian and one-year-old Lorenz, who have been just as involved with the store as their parents.
While the Santangeli family focuses on delivering specialty coffee, they support local bakeries by sourcing their pastries from them(Image: Michael Driffill)
On the menu, customers can expect everything from specialty coffee and matcha, to tea and cold-pressed juices. Meanwhile, locally-sourced baked goods such as cinnamon buns can also be bought from the shelves.
The house bean is Assembly Coffee all the way from London, but to keep things interesting, every month the store will have a guest bean “sourced from all over Europe”. This means there will always be an option of a “creamy velvety chocolate flavour” while a “wild-and-whacky” flavour will rotate.
Nicholas, who also owns Vulcan Street’s ELEV8 Performance Gym, said: “It’s been crazy. It’s been so busy, which is obviously what we wanted. It’s great to see everyone raving about the place. It’s a big learning curve, but it is paying off and going well so far.
Lu&Lo Coffee can be found along Liverpool Road in Maghull(Image: Michael Driffill)
“We designed it all ourselves. It wouldn’t look out of place in Sydney, Malibu, or along Bondi Beach. We wanted the dead clean and bright vibes, somewhere that was inviting.”
Nicholas explained how he and 30-year-old graphic designer Rachel had no “real intention” of opening a coffee store until recently. Prior to this, it was always just an “idea” for the two. However, when the unit came up that they now call, a sudden “12 weeks of grafting” began.
The former Deyes High School pupil said: “We were still doing our day jobs, and then in the evenings, doing everything we could in our spare time to get it ready. It’s a massive risk in the current climate, but at the same time, we believe in ourselves.
“It’s a family-run business, and we are going all in on it. We have the passion, and we know we are delivering a really good product, a product that is filling a void in Maghull.
“For weeks, as we were getting things done, we would go every day with the boys. We would sit there, and it would just be us, and then just a flash, we are sitting there surrounded by customers who love it like we do. It’s been crazy to see how fast it has just switched on its head. It means the world to us.”
Lu&Lo Coffee is opened from seven days a week from 8am to 3pm, except on Saturday and Sunday when it opens at 9 am. It can be found at 156D Liverpool Road North, Maghull.