Work will be starting in the next few days to refurbish the old Curators House Team Rooms, within the Botanical Gardens, as the lovely folk behind Joni’s café look to open their newest site this Summer.
Joni, who already boast popular cafes in Oughtibridge and Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, are planning a full refurbishment of the former Curators House Tea Rooms, including providing public access to improved toilet facilities at the Clarkhouse Road entrance to the gardens.
Joni’s Amy Hagues said: “We’re incredibly excited to announce our Joni family is expanding and will be opening a new site to bring you our signature breakfast, brunch, lunch, coffee and bakes in the most beautiful setting imaginable; the Botanical Gardens!
“Since opening our little shop in Oughtibridge we’ve been overwhelmed by support from our locals and the wider reach of Sheffield and have continued to grow our family when we opened Joni at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet last year.
“We can’t wait to serve up spritz brunches and sunset tapas overlooking the gardens. More details coming soon!”
The Botanical Gardens are one of the jewels in the crown of Sheffield’s parks and gardens, featuring listed glasshouses, a bear pit and hundreds of rare plants and trees in its 19 acres. The Gardens are listed by English Heritage as a Grade II site of special historic and architectural interest It is visited by thousands of people every year and hosts major events including a firework display, plays and concerts.
Amy Hagues in Joni’s Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet site
Councillor Richard Williams, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Policy Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “We’re really pleased to see that this development is getting underway. A thriving café makes a huge difference to visitors’ experience within our parks, gardens and woodlands and we know that the gardens have been crying out for improvements to these facilities for some time now.
“Joni are a great partner, with a fantastic reputation for delivering high quality hospitality in venues across the city. We’re really excited to see what impact the introduction of Joni to the Botanicals Gardens will have.
“Through our Better Parks initiative, we’re able to bring in fantastic developments, like this café, that improve our green spaces, generate vital income for our parks and support our local economy and businesses.”
Miles Stevenson, the Chair of the Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust, said: “The Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust was established in1996 to raise the funds for the restoration of the Gardens. It has now raised over £7 million to ensure that the gardens are a jewel in Sheffield’s crown.
“We know that people from all over the world visit these beautiful gardens – and having a great café for visitors is a really important aspect of any visit. So we’re really pleased that Joni is going to be operating the new café and we wish them much success.”
The Friends of the Gardens (FOBS) are a large army of Volunteers, who maintain and support the Botanical Gardens. Carolyn Clark, the Executive Chair of FOBS, added: “We are thrilled to have a café with such a great reputation and known track record of working in heritage sites in Sheffield’s beautiful Botanical Gardens. We welcome them to the Gardens family and wish them much success.”
An opening date will be announced shortly and you keep your eyes peeled for updates on Joni’s socials.
