Otley Garden Centre celebrates refreshed catering offering with mayoral visit
The team at Otley Garden Centre celebrated the reopening of its popular restaurant by hosting Otley Town Mayor, Cllr Paul Carter, for afternoon tea recently.
Cllr Carter, along with his wife and consort Denise, was invited to Blooms, the refurbished and renamed 200-seater table service restaurant, by Otley Garden Centre’s catering manager, Marina Jannetta.
Yorkshire Garden Centres, owner of Otley Garden Centre, has invested over £150,000 in the refurbishment, which includes a new menu, new décor and crockery, to bring Blooms in line with the other restaurants in the group. They have also introduced a new table service, which has proved popular at other sites, and a new look and feel inspired by the local area, including limited edition prints from celebrated Yorkshire artist Jane Gales.
“We’re proud of the results of our significant investment in Blooms at Otley Garden Centre and were delighted to host Cllr Carter and his wife Denise as he is a long-standing customer and has been very supportive of us since we acquired the garden centre,” said Mrs Jannetta.
Cllr Carter said: “We were delighted to visit the new and improved Blooms for an excellent afternoon tea. The restaurant at Otley Garden Centre has long been a family favourite and a go-to destination for a hearty breakfast. The team has done a great job of retaining the family-run feel of the business while investing significantly to improve facilities throughout the centre. The afternoon tea was beautifully presented and delicious, and I know my mother would love to experience it next time she visits.”
Yorkshire Garden Centres’ MD, Mark Farnsworth added: “Otley Garden Centre was established by Stephen H. Smith in 1966. It was the first of the group’s acquisitions in 2022, and we hope that we have built on Stephen’s legacy with sympathetic improvements undertaken by local tradesmen, and with our support of community initiatives like Wildlife Friendly Otley and Otley Food Bank.
Since acquisition, Otley Garden Centre has benefited from £750,000 worth of investment in improvements to the site and in renewable energy. Its plans to appeal to families have been given the green light by local planners, who have granted permission for a Grass Hoppers indoor and outdoor play area. Work is expected to begin in January 2026.
The Yorkshire Garden Centres group comprises Tong, Tingley, Otley, Bingley and Pennine Garden Centres, plus Dean’s York and Scarborough.