Cannoli, community and connection in the heart of Preston

On a quiet stretch of High Street in Preston, nestled between a hair salon and a dumpling kitchen, stands a modest Italian bakery. Inside, the scent of fresh cannoli lingers, alongside the warmth of decades of family legacy.

This isn’t just a place to grab coffee or sweets – it’s a place of memories, relationships and the rhythms of community life.

“I’m third generation,” says Nadia Lucchini, the current owner, standing behind the glass counter stacked with pastries. “The business started 73 years ago in Lygon Street, Carlton. This shop here has been in Preston for 53 years.”

The Lucchini Cakes & Cafe began with her grandparents, then passed to her father and now Nadia and her brother manage the day-to-day operations, while their parents still help. The generational thread is also evident in their customers.

“We’ve got people coming in who say, ‘You made my baptism cake, and now you’re making my daughter’s baptism cake.’ It’s been 40 years for some of them,” Nadia says. She remembers a young woman who, at 22, came back just for the ham and cheese toastie she loved as a child and now brings her friends along to share the nostalgia.

Nadia’s father, John, now 76, says the emotional weight of the bakery is most apparent in these returning faces. “We had shops in Carlton and Preston Market,” he recalls. “Customers who came as children now bring their own grandchildren.”

At one point, the bakery was producing 7,000 cannoli a week – those crisp, tube-shaped Italian pastries filled with sweet ricotta cream. “It was cannoli that kept us going through some tough years,” John says, explaining how lowering prices during hard times brought customers flooding back.

It’s not just about pastries. For John and Nadia it’s about human connection. “We treat a lot of our older customers like family,” Nadia says. “Some of them come in just to talk. If they’re lonely, this is a place they know they can feel at home.”

If John had to choose one word, he’d call it a “meeting place.” He feels some cafe staff these days can be cold, acting as if they’re doing customers a favor just by showing up. “Not here,” he said. “Here, everyone is equal. We talk to our customers. We listen.”

Over the decades, the shop has adapted to shifting tastes. While older customers still order cappuccinos and toasted cheese sandwiches, the younger crowd now comes in for matcha lattes and turmeric chai. French pastries and croissants now sit alongside Italian classics. “We noticed Chinese customers love cheesecake and croissants,” Nadia says. “So, we adjusted.”

“We used to have a shop in Preston Market too,” Nadia explains. “But during COVID, it became too much. Our parents were getting older and we decided to focus everything on this one place.”

Despite his age, John has no plans to retire. “I only work Fridays and Saturdays, but those are our busiest days. I still enjoy it. When I can’t come anymore, my body will tell me. [My mother] worked until she was nearly 89. She was ahead of her time, looking after her body and staying active, she helped run three market shops.”

In an era of chain cafes and digital orders, this Preston mainstay stands as a rare reminder that some pastries are more than just desserts and some places abound with the stories of those who built them and those who keep coming back.