Café Purple at Watford Palace Theatre

Industry sector:
Public entertainment

Startpoint:
In 2004, this major regional theatre was undergoing a complete refurbishment and a new café/restaurant formed part of the plans.

After a formal tender process, Leaf was contracted to not only design a commercial catering option - but also to finance it.

There were two other key elements in our work:

• To ensure daytime public use and evening theatregoer use were complementary - and profitable;
• To meet strict budgetary constraints.

In turn the contract gave us three self-imposed challenges:

• To maximise the limited spaces available for day and evening usage;
• To procure all relevant equipment - and ensure they worked to the optimum in the appropriate spaces;
• To recruit and train staff to cope with the operation's fundamentally flexible nature.

Today:
Café Purple has now been open for just under a year and our role encompasses:

• Managing and publicising a 75-seater café during the day;
• Transforming the café space for theatregoers, offering a different product range in the evening;
• Running a licensed bar around performances;

Overall, we have shown sales increases month-on-month since we opened and have consistently exceeded customer and client expectations. Café Purple is becoming increasingly known in the town of Watford as a daytime venue, as well as its key role at performances.

If any of the above match the challenges you face, make contact with Leaf Catering by clicking here.