Hotel checks in record week for catering outlets

The combination of the late May Bank Holiday, school half term and sunny weather resulted in a record week for Coombe Abbey Hotel’s outdoor catering business.

The Café in the Park, Kiosk in the Park and ice-cream kiosk, all located within the grounds of the 500-acre parklands, saw weekly revenue beating their previous best by 48%.

Soaring temperatures attracted a huge rise in footfall to the park and Go Ape tree top adventure site.

Ron Terry, operations director at Coombe Abbey Park Ltd, said: “We have worked hard to grow our offer and our business, and that combined with good weather over the Bank Holiday weekend meant we were very busy.

“The cafes did even better than we expected and it was a record week beating our previous best by an enormous 48%. This was even with Digbeth Dining Club hosting a separate event at the park on the first weekend of June.

“Ice-creams have been central to this success as the park has been inundated with families, walkers and visitors to Go Ape, which has been a major player since it opened on the site two years ago.”

The team which runs the Coombe Abbey Hotel – No Ordinary Hospitality Management – have operated the park’s three catering outlets since May 2018.

They have seen three years of consecutive growth, despite a two-and-a-half-month closure amid various national lockdowns.

Café in the Park, which offers breakfast, meals and kids’ menus, has not been running a full service since Covid restrictions were introduced, but this is set to resume if Covid restrictions are lifted on June 21.

The Kiosk in the Park is run on a ‘grab-and-go’ basis selling paninis, chips, ice-creams, freshly ground coffee, hot and cold drinks.