Dobbies Garden Centres has announced that there will be three top industry professionals joining its restaurant team. 

Head of Restaurants, Costas Constantinou, one of twelve of Nicholas Marshall’s new recruits at Dobbies, has introduced a new structure to include Regional Restaurant Managers. The roles have been created to support the leading garden retailer’s 34 stores and lead on new initiatives for the business. 

Alan Waddington brings over 35 years of experience in the catering industry, including being a Regional Manager for Wyevale and Group Catering Manager for Aston Martin. Alan will take the lead in driving new initiatives to revamp the beverage offer across the centres. 

Susan Givens, was awarded the accolade of Restaurant Manager of the Year at Wyevale last year having built up a career in garden centre restaurants for over 17 years.  Susan has incredible baking skills and will form the core of Dobbies ‘freshly baked’ strategy. 

James White, formerly a Regional Manager at Wyevale has a career spanning over 15 years in garden centre restaurants.  James has extensive experience in project management and will form part of the restaurant regeneration programme. 

Costas commented: “Alan, Susan and James are joining the Dobbies team at the most exciting time.  With significant improvements planned for this year, the new Regional Restaurant Managers will be at the forefront of delivering unrivalled standards of food, service and customer experience”. 

The restaurant offer at Dobbies will be improved with local ingredients being at the fore. Working with British farmers and manufacturers to provide a variety of options to suit wider dietary requirements, as well launching a new children’s menu, are priorities for the new team to better serve customers visiting Dobbies.