High Life Highland has opened the latest addition to its catering operation this week with the introduction of CaféBotanics at Inverness Botanic Gardens.
CaféBotanics at Inverness Botanic Gardens has been completely refreshed during lockdown which features a renewed decking area overlooking the gardens as well as redecoration of the internal spaces that gives the visitor attraction a whole new look and feel. The opening of CafeBotanics marks another significant step in the charity’s bounceback campaign.
Hannah Walton, one of the five CaféBotanics staff to transfer to High Life Highland said, “It is so nice to be back at Inverness Botanic Gardens again. I am really looking forward to welcoming our customers back and I’m excited to introduce our new menu which offers a wide range of home-made soups, freshly made sandwiches, a selection of baking and of course excellent coffee.”
Inverness Botanic gardens reopened to the public on the 27th July and visitor numbers have been steadily increasing since then.
Ewan Mackintosh Inverness Botanic Gardens manger said, “I am delighted to see CaféBotanics now opening to the public. A lot of hard work has gone into the refurbishment and our staff, although new to High Life Highland will be familiar faces to our existing customers.
“We are really looking forward to the gardens and café becoming an essential stop-off point for people visiting the Bught Park area or any of the other local attractions.”
The café will be open from 10am to 4pm seven days a week and initially will provide table service only to comply with test and protect and social distancing measures as laid out in the Scottish Governments guidelines.
Mr. Mackintosh continued, “The staff have been working extremely hard over the last few weeks in preparation for opening. Customers old and new can expect a warm welcome and a new menu for them to enjoy. We expect demand to be high and would ask for patience as, due to physical distancing requirements, table service spaces are likely to be at a premium.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Inverness Botanic Gardens to help protect both the longer-term sustainability of the gardens as well as the other vital community services offered by the charity, as all additional income generated from CaféBotanics will be reinvested directly back into the work of the charity.”
Catering was brought in-house as part of a strategic review of High Life Highlands catering operation earlier this year prior to lockdown. Inverness Botanic Gardens is the latest addition to the charity’s catering establishments in the City including: Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Canal Park, Inverness Leisure and Hilton Community Centre as well as the Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore.
Councillor Graham Ross, Depute Provost and Leader of Inverness and Area said, “It was great to see the gardens open a few weeks back, so to have the newly refurbished CafeBotanics and outdoor dining area complete and re-opening today, is the icing on the cake. Inverness Botanic Gardens is a hidden gem in the City of Inverness and I would encourage locals and visitors to take some time to pop along, you won’t be disappointed.”
