Our fantastic Enterprise team have been working hard behind the scenes and this Monday (29 March) our contractors, Edmundson Building, arrive on site to transform the existing café in Exhibition Park into our new Urban Green Café.
Urban Green Café is set to open later this spring and is our first commercial venture, with all profits being reinvested into our green spaces.
Marian Chapman, our Enterprise Director, said: “We’ve had a very positive response from park users and members of the public to our plans for Urban Green Café.
“The site has always been a popular meeting place for local groups, families and for the thousands of people that visit the park every week, and that will continue as we create a brand new community space in the heart of Exhibition Park.”
First announced in December 2020, the new Urban Green Café will feature a larger outdoor seating area so people can take in the sights and sounds of the park whilst enjoying locally sourced food and drink, including ethically sourced coffee, specialty teas, local craft ales, organic wines, and non-alcoholic drinks.
The new seating area will also ensure visitors can adhere to any social distancing requirements in place when the café opens.
Cllr Irim Ali, one of our Trustees, said: “Newcastle has a really proud portfolio of parks and open spaces which have provided important respite to our communities during this pandemic with people having to stay local for larger periods of time given the Covid-19 restrictions.
“The city’s parks provide a range of benefits to our physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as our environment, and I’m really pleased to see the innovative plans Urban Green Newcastle has in the pipeline to improve the offer to residents.
“The progress with Exhibition Park’s Urban Green Café has been really swift and I look forward to having a bite to eat whilst enjoying the scenery at this new facility when it opens in the months ahead.”
Marian continued: ““In the future we will offer a diverse, accessible and vibrant community events programme for local people and visitors to enjoy.
“We’ve worked very hard to make sure Urban Green Café matches our charity’s values and improves people’s experience of visiting Exhibition Park.
“We want Urban Green Café to be a place that connects people to nature and inspires them to work in partnership with us to care for and protect our green spaces.”
We have recently appointed our café manager and now we’re recruiting for a number of new roles including café chefs, café assistants and café team leader. Head over to our Current Vacancies page for more information and to apply. The deadline for applications is Monday 12 April (9am).