New era for council-owned Leamington restaurant and cafe

Visitors to Jephson Gardens in Leamington will soon be able to enjoy restaurant dining again for the first time in years as part of a new catering contract which began this month.
The restaurant at the Glasshouse in Jephson Gardens, Leamington.The restaurant at the Glasshouse in Jephson Gardens, Leamington.
The restaurant at the Glasshouse in Jephson Gardens, Leamington.

As part of its partnership with Warwick District Council to plan and develop a Creative Quarter at buildings and sites in and around the south of the town Complex Development Projects (CDP) has brought in provider Just Inspire to manage the restaurant at the park’s Glasshouse and the cafe, annex and assembly room at the Pump Room.

The most notable feature of this new contract are that the council wants the Jephson Gardens venue to be fully operational and used for its original purpose as a ‘brasserie-style’ restaurant opening for both lunchtime service and evening meals.

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In recent years the restaurant has only been used as a venue for events such as wedding receptions and closed at most times.

The council is also spending £300,000 to refurbish the interior of the Pump Rooms, including its toilets, to make them more appealing to visitors.

In order to increase levels of trade at the Pump Room cafe, Just Inspire wants to re-open the entrances under the under the colonnade at either end of the building to make the cafe more visible to the public and to “drive-up footfall”

When the new contract was first proposed last year a report by the council said; “CDP has chosen Just Inspire as its preferred catering and events partner for the Creative Quarter project as it believes it has a shared ethos on the importance of community engagement.

Both the restaurant and cafe are expected to re-open on March 1 once the refurbishment work is completed.