Date :
28/08/2013
Unlocking the potential of the centre’s café fell to Sandra Reid, catering consultant with Experiencing Scotland. Together, they helped develop better relationships with local producers, which in turn made the café a much more popular attraction in its own right.
Sandra spotted that the catering operation lacked an identity as part of the whole Falkirk Wheel experience. While the visitor centre has an industrial appearance, elements of the catering space were more rustic.
Clearly, a generic approach to any part of an attraction subtracts from the whole visitor experience.
“Bringing clarity on identity would be beneficial”, says Sandra,
“either matching to industrial design with more stainless steel and similar finishes on service ware and presentation, or a farmers’ market style rustic approach.”
Already Scottish Canals, the Wheel’s operator, has begun implementing changes.
“The report from Experiencing Scotland is very constructive and insightful,” says Claire McVeigh, the Wheel’s lead duty manager.
She points to immediate improvements in queue management and visitor flow.
“It’s also highlighted the importance of promoting our unique themes and relationships with local suppliers, and developing a more consistent approach to branding.”
As well as suggesting take away, or grab and go facilities to help reduce waiting times, Sandra Reid recommended making more of the attraction’s unique selling points. Her report listed flagging up local suppliers, on menus for example, and introducing more seasonality through a range of ’specials’ based on local and traditional recipes.
While finding traditional recipes that reflect the locale may be easier in some places than others, unique branding is important. Taking a more consistent approach to menus, table talkers and other catering marketing materials is always good advice.
In the context of the Falkirk Wheel, itself part of the £43 million Helix project, and a showpiece for the revival of Scotland’s canal network, it’s an opportunity from which spin off benefits will surely flow.