Making plans for a new café and bar on St Mary’s
The refurbishment of the former Town Hall in Hugh Town will bring with it a brand-new café and bar for St Mary’s. Sitting across two floors of the building, guests will enjoy far-reaching views over beautiful Porthcressa beach.
The new café will become an integral part of the food and drink offer on the Island – offering a casual dining experience for museum visitors, a drinks service during evening music and theatre performances and offering catering for private functions in the Island hall.
The cafe, occupying the ground floor and first floor of the Town Hall, will offer far-reaching panoramic views over Porthcressa Beach
The cafe could also offer a pre- and post-show dinner experience in the evenings – making it a great venue for an evening out for holidaymakers and residents alike.
The fully-rigged Klondyke gig boat is a huge symbol of island life and culture and will be suspended from the ceiling of the building, making an impressive centrepiece in the café.
An artists proposal showing the suspension of the Klondyke boat from the ceiling of the designated cafe space. Credit: Imagemakers UK
The café will hold around 50 people, and there are opportunities for daytime and evening services. It will provide both full time and part time/seasonal jobs in catering and hospitality on the island.
There is already a very strong focus on food and drink on St Mary’s with many popular pubs and restaurants throughout the island. We know that capacity in peak season can be an issue – with many of the most popular places booking up a year in advance – and we believe the addition of the new café will help to provide further choice on the Island and complementing the existing offer.
Next steps for the café and bar at the museum
The Cultural Centre and Museum project team has appointed independent catering consultants Kendrick Hobbs to assess the requirements for the café, to make recommendations on the best plans for the space and to create business plans and projections for the café.
As the Cultural Centre and Museum project progresses, we will be reviewing how the café and bar is managed. We will weigh up options for managing the café bar in house as part of the new company against offering it as a concession and inviting tenders to run the facility.
Opportunities to get involved in the food and beverage offer at the museum will be promoted in 2024 as we move closer to the opening of the new building.
An artists proposal showing the designated ground floor space for the cafe. Credit: Imagemakers UK
