industry news
GCA members discuss challenges of re-opening restaurants and cafés
“It was a great opportunity for an open
Members of the Garden Centre Association (GCA) recently (August 2020) took part in a virtual forum to discuss the challenges they faced with the re-opening of restaurants and cafés.
The forum was facilitated by Chris Brown of Turpin Smale Catering Consultants and attendees included principals, managers and catering managers, who were able to share ideas, information and best practice. Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, explained: “One of the biggest benefits of being a member of the GCA is being able to share best practice and ideas with other members and, as our regional meetings are unable to take place as they normally would at this time of year, we’ve decided to get together virtually instead.
discussion with Chris Brown at the helm. There were lots of points raised about how the re- opening of catering hasn’t been as clear cut as the re-opening of garden centres was back in May. “With numbers/capacity limited in centres and some only having retail areas opened, we discussed the effects of customers coming in and staying for longer periods of time. “It was revealed that many of our member garden centres have been looking to move to a table service and that many have been trialling or implementing IT solutions for ordering and payment, QR codes and WiFi. Many members have been taking pre- bookings only and not walk ins and some revealed they will/won’t take up the meal voucher scheme proposed by the Government. “It was good for everyone to get together
again, albeit virtually, and share their concerns, ideas and hopes for the future, as well as the positives that they have found. It was concluded that the next real challenge facing our member garden centres would be implementing a successful Christmas and we will be hosting another forum on this topic shortly.” The GCA’s virtual forums will continue to take place during the next six to 12 months and a range of topics will be discussed. Sessions are free and exclusive to members of the GCA.
HTA AGM 2020
Goes Virtual The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) took place ‘virtually’ this year. The online meeting was conducted via
webinar on 16 September 2020 at 2pm. The HTA AGM provides full members of the Association the opportunity to have their say and contribute to its work, ensuring that it continues to deliver what its members need.
Boyd Douglas-Davies, HTA President, and James Barnes, HTA Chairman, will chaired the meeting from Horticulture House in Oxfordshire. Key appointments were ratified and significant accomplishments throughout the year will be recognised.
Members could participate online during the webinar and the HTA’s Annual Review will also be available.
Bradford Garden Centre marks five years of new ownership with further changes
With the latest phase of its expansion progressing well, the team at a Bradford garden centre have announced further plans to enhance the visitor experience. Members of Tong’s catering team review the plans for the new Mezzanine restaurant Team Tong members chat about The Mezzanine. In addition to providing new facilities for the 200 strong team and extending the range of gardening products and houseplants, the second storey of the 25,000 square feet extension at Tong Garden Centre will be home to a new 180 seater restaurant, The Mezzanine. With panoramic views over the Tong Lane site’s established grounds, the new table- service restaurant will offer a relaxed dining experience with new brunch and lunch menus and a choice of sweet and savoury sharing platters when it opens this autumn. Mark Farnsworth bought the ailing garden
centre in 2015 with business partner, Tom Megginson and the pair have invested over £7million in a bid to become one of the North’s leading centres. MD Mr. Farnsworth outlines the improvements: “We’re excited to add a second
GCU Autumn 2020
restaurant to our destination garden centre and extend the current gardening range. “In the main building we’re making some changes to our concessions area with Pavers seeing a significant expansion, allowing them to bring a much bigger range to Tong. “Sadly, we’ll be saying goodbye to some of our
retail partners, including Mountain Warehouse and Klass. In the next phase of our plans, we will see this space transformed and we are looking
forward to sharing our plans later this year. “In the meantime, the additional space will allow for our Christmas ranges to be better spaced, with social distancing in mind, to help our customers to shop safely and with confidence during the festive period.” Tong Garden Centre occupies a 17 acre site in Tong village. It is one of Yorkshire’s biggest garden centres with 110,000 square feet of retail space and parking for up to 1,000 cars.
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