Garden centre Dobbies to reopen restaurant at Chesterfield store

Garden centre company Dobbies has revealed it will reopen restaurants at its sites in Derbyshire on Saturday.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The move, which includes Dobbies’ site at Barlborough, has been made after updated guidance from the Government.

Dobbies reopened its 68 garden centres across the UK in May, with strict social distancing measures in operation, but its food outlets remained closed.

In each centre there will be a dedicated ‘Safety Champion’ who will be solely responsible for ensuring all measures are being followed.

Restaurants at Dobbies' garden centres will reopen on Saturday.Restaurants at Dobbies' garden centres will reopen on Saturday.
Restaurants at Dobbies' garden centres will reopen on Saturday.

Graeme Jenkins, chief executive of Dobbies, said: “The safety of our team members and customers remains Dobbies number one priority, which is why we have introduced the new role of Safety Champion.

“Not only do we want customers to feel safe, but we want them to have an enjoyable experience.

“We look forward to welcoming customers back into our Derbyshire restaurants and would like to thank our team members and customers for following the measures we have implemented.”

Tables and chairs have been laid out in the restaurants to ensure there is a safe distance between diners.

In the Barlborough store, customers will select their food then collect their covered meal from a dedicated food collection area, along with cutlery, wrapped straight from the dishwasher.

Protective screens remain installed at tills and customers are asked to pay with card or contactless.

Dobbies bosses say appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) has been provided for all staff at its centres.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor