25/03/2013 - Permalink

Local couple get ready to run Mere Boathouse in Ellesmere

Related topics: Community / Leisure, culture and heritage

Thursday 28 March 2013 will see the start of a new era at the Mere Boathouse in Ellesmere, when well-known local couple Kate and Richard Taylor take on the running of the building, in time for the busy Easter weekend.

In February 2013 Kate and Richard’s business, The Boathouse Ellesmere Ltd, was awarded the contract to run the Boathouse for the next nine years, on behalf of its owners Shropshire Council and Ellesmere Town Council.

The Boathouse currently offers a restaurant, shop and visitor centre, but the couple have exciting plans to enhance, improve and grow the business, and the services and facilities for customers and visitors.

Under their plans for the Boathouse, they will:

  • Introduce evening opening for the restaurant on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays during the summer, and on Fridays and Saturdays in the winter .
  • Offer a new menu for the evening reflecting an early diner’s table d’hote in the restaurant, and adding an a la carte menu as the evening openings generate interest.
  • Offer local musicians the chance to perform at the Boathouse.
  • Change the format of the current visitor centre to sell local produce and local arts and crafts wherever feasible. The visitor centre will also be a café area serving tea, coffee and cakes from 8am to 6pm, seven days a week, all-year-round.
  • Work closely with Shropshire Council and Shropshire Wildlife Trust to promote the Mere, Ellesmere and the whole of the Meres and Mosses region.

Kate and Richard said:

“We’re really looking forward to the challenge of the Boathouse. It’s  an iconic building close to the hearts of many people, and a great place to work.  We are proud of what Ellesmere has to offer, and we look forward to welcoming customers old and new.”

Mark Blount, from Shropshire Council’s outdoor recreation service, said:

“We wish Kate and Richard every success as they take on the running of the Boathouse.  We look forward to seeing the business go from strength to strength and playing an even greater role in promoting Ellesmere, The Mere Country Park and the surrounding area to visitors from near and far.”

Kate and Richard Taylor are already well-known to the local community and have strong connections to the Boathouse, the Mere and the town.

Richard is Deputy Chairman and Secretary of Ellesmere Chamber of Commerce, Secretary of the newly-established social enterprise, All Together Ellesmere, as well as being a founding member, secretary and treasurer of The Friends of the Mere – a group which works to support the refurbishment, maintenance and visitor enjoyment of the Mere Project and the Boathouse.

Kate has been managing the Boathouse restaurant since its refurbishment in 2009 as part of a wider lottery-funded project, and has seen both trade and customer satisfaction rise year-on-year since then.

Existing staff employed at the Boathouse will transfer to the new company on 27 March.

As an example of what is to come, on the night of 11 May singers James Archer and Hamilton Breeze will perform a selection of classic swing at the Boathouse, from the Ratpack through to Michael Buble.