Daily Specials

 Fakenham Garden Centre's cafe works hard to get the locals in every day of the week.

No Stings

Wasps - a real problem this summer but at least Steff's Kitchen cafe at Fairweather's garden centre in Beaulieu has addressed the issue.

 There is much to commend at Steff's Kitchen - Comment cards are posted with replies.

 Patrick's Patch - their community garden.

Real food for children and their Kitchen Quality Guarantee.

Garden Centre Quirky

Guest Spot

Ian Boardman sends in this photo from Hilltop Garden Centre's cafe at Ramsden, Witney.  See more cafe design hanging ideas at http://pinterest.com/turpinsmale/great-cafes-design/

White Smoke & Red Noses

Guest Spot

Heather Borderie, Manager of the Glendoick Garden Centre cafe near Perth keeps it topical with Pope and Red Nose Muffins

Hanging Herbs

Boskke Upside-down herb growing pots look like a great way of enhancing cafe ambiance and your local sourcing.

If you attended the HTA's Garden Centre Catering Conference yesterday, welcome to the Great Cafes Blog especially written for professional cafe operators.  Sign up to receive the blog by e-mail - we put up a photo of something new and interesting every working day.

To get the most from the blog, check out the Pinterest Photoboards on the right hand side and look at our archive.

If it makes you think you need some specialist consultancy advice to start up for the first time, make more money, improve standards, bust queues or get from good to great; do get in touch.

Over a Fiver Egg Sarnie

Individual box sandwich presentation plus crisps in Kilner jar and pickle for £5.45 at Burford Garden Company.

75% Sales Increase

Haskins Garden Centre, Southampton invested £2.3 million in a new 460-seat cafe a year ago and sales have increased by 75%.  Catering sales account for almost one quarter of total garden centre turnover.

Treacle Toffee Apple Muffins.

 Apricot Scones

Lemon Meringue Muffins

Cheese Straws

Home-baked Cheese & Cumin Straws at Steff's Kitchen at Fairweather's Garden Centre in Beaulieu - worth a visit.

Cake, Cake and more Cake

The presentation may be a little corporate stainless steel, glass and chilled but you cannot fault the variety, home baking and eye appeal.

Dobbies garden centre cafe, Ashford.

Tea for Two

Afternoon tea is booming at the Ritz and Brown's hotels in London and at stately homes such as Chatsworth.  So why not at your local garden centre?  Dobbies go for it.

Platter for a Ploughman's

Dobbies version
see previous post http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/05/ploughmans.html

Suki Tea

Quality tea and attractive tea pots - Suki tea at Dobbies garden centre cafe, Ashford.  Are you still offering a cheap stainless steel dribbling teapot with no-name untagged teabag?

Bakery Cafes

Dobbies garden centres are really serious about their baking and cakes.

Red (Chocolate) Roses

Three special ladies in my life - wife and twin teenage daughters - will get Carluccios chocolate roses and a short break to Barcelona - anyone know some great cafes there?

"Marry Me?" cakes and cupcakes at Dobbies garden centre cafe at Ashford - this is one very switched-on cafe operation and a treasure trove of future blog posts.  Tesco, who owns Dobbies, is on to a winner.  Will Dobbies will sort out Tesco cafes one day?

You just cannot get enough heart shapes - Krispy Kreme's doughnuts and Millies cookies.  I prefer the chocolate roses.

Snowmen

Snowmen at one of my favourite garden centre cafes, Barton Grange at Brock, Preston.  We can spot a winner - Barton Grange was recently voted Garden Centre of the Year 2012 - congratulations to Guy, Russell and the team.  See previous blog posts:

http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2012/01/multi-deck-salad.html

http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/12/toilet-humour.html

http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/12/that-local-story.html

http://greatcafes.blogspot.com/2011/12/hot-pot-footfall.html

Cake + Plants = 55 Million

55 million people visited a garden centre cafe last year according to a report just out from the Horticultural Trades Association - up from 36 million in 2008.  Garden centre cafes are booming - 10% up in 2011 on 2010 according to the larger centres represented by the Garden Centre Association.

The only slight issue may be that customers under 45 are apparently less delighted with garden centre catering than those over 45.  My take on this, as outlined at the GCA's conference yesterday, is that as the cafes get bigger and more professional they are losing some of their appeal in terms of personality, humour and quirkiness.

Solution:  Read this blog and sign up for a London Cafe Tour!  The best have already done so.

Good food is at the heart of a great cafe but I am coming to realise that good design is the way to stand out, be noticed and win the hearts and business of those under 45s.

Multi Deck Salad

Neat use of a multi-deck chiller to display a salad bar at Barton Grange Garden Centre

Toilet Humour

How many cafes make money from selling postcards of their urinals?!  Barton Grange Garden Centre demonstrates humour, creativity and quirkiness.

That Local Story

Local produce is big and you need specifics, not blah blah.  Great messages at the National Trust's Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire and Lancashire's Barton Grange Garden Centre

Hot Pot Footfall

Mary Portas is spot on with her comments about the need to drive footfall.  She might not be so happy with how garden centres and farm shops are pulling folk away from the high street.  Guy, Russell and the team at Barton Grange near Preston know how to pull them in - their cafe is offering Hot Pot (with red cabbage and crusty bread) at £2.95 between 5pm and 7.30pm.  At a time when the cafe would otherwise be quiet 480 customers came last Tuesday all buying drinks and items in the garden centre.  Little wonder their business is up 12% on last year.