New Urban Green Café unveiled for Exhibition Park

Plans have been unveiled for a new café in Exhibition Park, replacing Café in the Park, which closed to the public in February 2020.

Urban Green Café will be a new community space, managed and run by Urban Green Newcastle, the charity responsible for looking after Newcastle’s 33 parks and over 60 allotment sites.

It marks the first commercial venture for the charity, with all profits being reinvested into the green spaces it manages.

Marian Chapman, Enterprise Director of Urban Green Newcastle, said: “As an independent charity, Urban Green Newcastle generates charitable income from a number of different sources.

“Commercial ventures are just one of the ways we fund our work to ensure Newcastle parks and allotments remain vibrant, welcoming spaces both now, and long into the future too.

“We have very exciting plans for the new café in Exhibition Park. It will act as community hub for local groups and a place for people to relax, connect with nature, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of Exhibition Park.

“We’ve worked very hard to ensure the café matches our charity’s values, improves the experience of visiting the park, and is a safe place for people to enjoy during the coronavirus pandemic.”

The new botanical-themed 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 social distancing requirements in place when the café opens in 2021.

The guidance around how to operate food and drink businesses safely during the coronavirus pandemic has been considered as part of the plans.

Urban Green Café will also have more public toilets, which members of the public can use without having to make a purchase in the café.

Marian continued: “We want the café to be a community hub; a place for local groups to hold meetings, a social space for families, and somewhere people can just relax and enjoy the wellbeing benefits that come from spending time in nature and green spaces.

“We hope it will add to the fantastic list of facilities already on offer in the park, and improve people’s experience of visiting this historic, city centre green space.”

Urban Green Café is due to open in Spring 2021. Anyone interested in further updates can sign up to receive Urban Green Newcastle’s newsletter by visiting www.urbangreennewcastle.org.

For more information about Urban Green Newcastle, visit www.urbangreennewcastle.org.