Squire’s Garden Centres has bolstered its Restaurant team with the appointment of Paul Larson, in the newly created role of Restaurant Training & Standards Manager.

Paul will have responsibility for overseeing training programmes across Squire’s 16 garden centre restaurants, as well as continuing to drive high standards and processes among restaurant teams. Paul will also establish Centres of Excellence and provide support in the roll-out of new menus.

Bringing a wealth of experience across catering and retail businesses amassed over 30 years in the food industry, Paul has worked in various roles for organisations including McCarthy Stone as Head of Food & Beverages, Sodexo (UK & Ireland) as Head of Retail, Threshers and Safeway Stores plc. Most recently Paul was Head of Commercial Business Development for a local authority.

Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments: “Our restaurants have developed significantly over recent years and Paul’s appointment will bring additional resource and an extra dimension to our restaurants. We have many loyal customers coupled with excellent restaurant teams. We believe Paul’s appointment will help us to serve our customers better and offer our colleagues enhanced training and support, so that their time at work is more enjoyable and satisfying. 

”We are delighted to welcome Paul, who brings with him a wealth of experience, and I know his strengths in training and motivating individuals and teams will be a fantastic addition to our restaurant team.”