Garden Centre Catering Awards interview

First, what's the background of the business?
Mike Lind: It has been in the Bellman family for over four decades. We're the second generation of family who have owned and run it. We've always been around food and plants, which is nice. It has obviously grown significantly over the years from its original roots as a tomato nursery.

Broadly, we have three key areas of the business: F&B [food and beverage], which I always say is the anchor of the business, because it pulls people in, whether it's for just a simple drink, a piece of cake, a sandwich or a wonderful Sunday roast. It's one of the key reasons for people to come here.

Then, when they're here, they can benefit from shopping from either our extensive range of plants or any of our indoor retail areas. We've got all that, plus we've got a very nice farm shop on the side as well.

You won the independent award. Is there any advantage to being a family-run business of this kind?
Wendy Tyzack: I think it is a big draw. Our customers want something different, and they want to come somewhere where the atmosphere is more personal. There are a lot of pitfalls to being in a chain where the service is quite dumbed down, so I think our customers come for that special, friendly touch. Then we try to balance all that with being efficient.

Lind: I think that's all very true, plus Wendy also has the ability to be able to, say, change our menus. She doesn't have to wait for a head office decision saying this is what you're doing this month. Wendy and the team can have real input into sourcing seasonal and local produce. Also, we've got four members of staff who've got over 40 years of service individually, so there's a lot of synergy between customers who come in because they see familiar faces.

One of the big reasons behind your win was that you had a big refurbishment here recently. What was the thinking behind that?
Lind: We built the restaurant in 2014, but there were a few things that we didn't quite get right. It needed investment to make it look right, and it also needed investment in someone to lead it properly, which is why Wendy joined us three years ago. Obviously, it was a big project, and we only managed to finish it in March of last year.

So, how's it been going since then? Has it been well received?
Tyzack: Yes, it has. Looking at sales, we're 25% up on last year, which is great because I was predicting we would be up by 10%. You think, well, where are the rest of the customers going to come from? But they just keep coming, so we're obviously doing something right.

Lind: The service style changed too. We increased the size of the kitchen, and Wendy has introduced a proper table ordering service where the food is ordered at the till and then brought to the table. It's all freshly prepared in the kitchen, then taken straight out to the customer.

What are the best sellers?
Tyzack: It's still fish and chips and the more traditional things, but some of my management team are fairly young, so that helps us stay on top of the TikTok and Instagram trends. We keep a really close eye on all that.

So, for breakfast specials, we've had things like French toast and smashed croissants. We've got avocado and hot honey. At the moment we've got toasted banana bread with caramelized banana, which is amazing, on the menu.

Lind: We also do a lot of fresh and healthy food and focus on dishes for vegans and vegetarians. There is a lot of interest in that side of it as well.

As part of the changes we made here, we also covered the outside area. It used to be just an open-sided area. Now it's got an extra hundred covers inside a beautiful glass-covered building. When we were planning it, we were thinking it always rains in England! But if this hot weather is a trend for the future, we have got cooling systems in place as well.

How important is it to win awards like this?
Tyzack: It's definitely important to the team, and I think any great recognition is important. We also went to Taste of the West Awards, where we got two golds for our desserts, as well as one for the restaurant as a whole. Then we won your award, and we just won a Garden Centre Association Award for the restaurant. We've already entered your Afternoon Tea category for this year.

Lind: We're more than a garden centre, we're a self-standing restaurant, so I think it's important to also win non-garden centre-specific awards. That’s a good balance.

Finally, what one tip would you offer on running a business like this well?
Tyzack: There is a balance between trying to be labour efficient and providing great customer service – and the customer service is what brings people back. If you can get that right, that's the biggest hurdle. Everything else around that is just fine-tuning. If you can get your team in the right state of mind, with the right attitude, displaying the correct behaviours, that's what brings people back.

Lind: That is a very good answer, plus the other thing is to remember to be authentic. We're a grassroots business, rooted in the community. We have a lot of long-serving staff, a lot of new staff, a lot of young staff, with a real mix of personalities and characters, and I think that's what gives us our USP.

That's why we're a happy independent, because we have a broad mix of people, with a broad range of skills and abilities. Ultimately, all that comes together to provide, hopefully, a great experience for the customers when they come here.

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