We recently received the following in an e-mail…
“…I have an interest in the gardens apart from the fact that we think they are beautiful I have a seat in memory of my parents, which now I wish I could bring it home. We are very disappointed in the cafe, they seem to think it is an up market restaurant, instead of a garden cafe, the food is too expensive and there is not any ‘ordinary’ food for a lunch. The previous staff catered for ‘Joe Public’ but not these people. If he doesn’t alter the menu then it will not last long…”
A set of views we believe that may be shared by a number of people?
The concerns of those who have loved-ones commemorated in the gardens, have probably not been considered all that much throughout the transition process; and the drastic change in the ‘branding and ethos’ of the café, must certainly been seen by many as a retrograde step.
Although the original menu has now been superseded by the so-called ‘Autumn’ menu; this still comes-across as somewhat uninviting and ‘irrelevant’; with the only mention of ‘organic’ being the tinned Cola! Couple that with (on a Sunday lunchtime visit a couple of weeks back) no apparent desire to provide cooked food; and it is no wonder that we found an empty restaurant. Should it not be – especially at this time of year – that the food side should be promoted; to actually try to bring people to the site. Maybe similar to a couple of years back; when the café was full with visitors eating organic Christmas lunches?
