The key ingredient to creating a successful destination garden centre restaurant is have a point of difference that set’s you apart from the rest, delegates to to last week’s HTA Garden Centre Catering Conference were told.
Alan Roper, chief executive of the Blue Diamond Group, who operate restaurants in all 14 of their garden centres, said excellent customer service and good food were a pre-requisite but these alone were not enough for destination restaurants.
He also said garden centres needed to make a greater connection between plants and the catering offer - why not sell homemade cakes with jasmine as an ingredient, lavender biscuits and nasturtium salads?
He presented a preview of plans for the catering offer at the group’s redeveloped Redfield Centre in Surrey, due to open in October 2013. They are moving away from runway style counter areas in favour of different seating areas and zones to create different and intimate experiences rather than “a mass of chairs”. To create theatre, the kitchen at Redfields will be completely open to view. Roper also encouraged delegates to think about tea. “We do coffee well but we can do tea better’ he said. At Redfields there will be tea and coffee experience counters complete with a range of different pots. High tea will be big, too.
The conference brought together those involved in garden centre catering – from small independents to larger chains. Cateringcontributes as much as 35% to turnover for some. HTA market information manager David Denny said the latest research showed that 50% of garden retailers provided catering.
Steven Whibley, MD of Gails Bakery, provided an insight into what makes his expanding chain of 12 innovative café bakeries in London, work. “Our aim is to make the product the star,” he said. “Presentation is key and the product is right in front of people’s faces as soon as they walk in. Products are laid out in an appetising fashion with no packaging – the focus is on abundance and warmth.’ He said: ‘It’s easier to put things in the fridge, which is why people do it. But people buy more at room temperature.” He concluded: “Atmosphere, ambience and visual merchandising are the experience touch points that provide the ideal guest experience. Understand your customers and provide the experience they want.”
The point about ambient food was also advocated by Chris Brown, Director of Turpin Smale Catering Consultancy. “It is much more appealing and more likely to sell. Be brave and keep things out”, he said. Using examples from catering businesses outside the industry Chris provided examples of simple yet great creativity that make outlets stand out for their individualism.
Neville Stein (Ovation Business Consultants) reminded delegates that it was vital that the catering operation makes money. One of the easiest ways to make more money was to sell more to existing customers. The focus needed to be on food costs, sales and wage costs, he said.
HTA Catering Business Improvement Scheme (CBIS) member Melanie Sewell from Fron Goch Garden Centre near Caernarfon has managed to improve profitability by constantly checking supplier prices and focusing on wage costs. By getting these down to 30% and 33% respectively, they saw a healthy 12% increase in profit last year.
Helen Joyce (another CBIS member) from Thirsk Garden Centre in Yorkshire, saw sales improve by 25% in 2012. Known for their coffee and cakes, their popularity has grown organically through word of mouth. “We provide a place for the local community to come – from groups, clubs to young mums, we have groups in most days. Ambience is the biggest driver – we are warm and comfortable. We use products from around the garden centre to help create the feel – making it inviting and interesting.”
Carl Hadfield, Group Catering Manager from Haskins demonstrated that through the introduction of a system, in their case ‘Optimum Control’, they have been able to successfully drive margins and improve profit. “Having a system in place provides you with a much better understanding of what you sell and where you buy it from. It allows you to have visibility, identify shortfalls, provide stability and consistency, confidence and control,” he said.
HTA Director of Business Development Tim Briercliffe said catering continued to be an important growth area for garden retailers. “It was great to see so many centres of all sizes represented at the conference. With practical advice, tips and great examples of innovative practice there were plenty of conference takeaways for delegates to take back to their businesses.”
