QUB/2141/21 Student Centre Cafe Concession

Queen’s University Belfast and Queen’s Students’ Union invite tenders for a concessionaire with significant hospitality experience to operate the café and pop up unit in the new Student Centre building. The new building will contain vibrant social and commercial spaces and a focal point will be the prominent cafe on the ground floor, highly visible within the building and from University Road through the extensive glazing that surrounds much of the building. With 24,000 students and over 3,700 staff, 200 of which will be based in the Student Centre, the cafe will be in a unique position to capitalise on this footfall. The location of the Student Centre and its accessibility means it will also benefit from passing footfall, as the building will be open to all and not restricted to students and staff. The café is expected to be open by September 2022 as the University welcomes students for the start of the academic year and will operate from early morning until late evening. The offer which will be sit in and takeaway and will focus on quality food and premium coffee in a contemporary setting . The successful concessionaire will be required to work closely with the University to develop a brand for the café that fits within the food strategy for the building. The operator will also be expected to work closely with the University in terms of the fit out of the kitchen, servery and associated areas. In addition to the main café, there will also be a pop-up/satellite catering unit in the main atrium that will support innovation and meeting additional demand at certain times of the year. This unit will be managed by the successful cafe operator at peak times of the year. Delivered Catering for meetings and events in the Student Centre will be supplied by the Café operator in conjunction with the Campus Food and Drink Department .