Taylor Park’s relaunched Boat House cafe a ‘big success’

When Taylor Park’s Boat House cafe shut in the spring - after long-serving and highly-respected tenants handed back the keys - an integeral part of the parkland’s community was lost.

Some regulars even took to pulling up deckchairs outside and bringing along flasks to maintain their happy place where they meet up for a brew and a chat.

The Boat House cafe (Image: St Helens Star)

The closure led to fears the building would end up shut for a lengthy period.

However, St Helens Council moved swiftly to reopen it themselves, with their own staff and catering teams at the helm.

A few tweaks to the menu - while keeping the “famous” cheese on toast the cafe is known for - have proved a hit with customers.

And the new team is actively taking on board suggestions about any additions it could make to its array of warm and cold drinks, butties, toasties and cakes.

Matthew Yates, from the council’s school’s traded services, which has taken over running the cafe, says it is “going from strength to strength”.

Matthew Yates (centre) and the Boat House team (Image: St Helens Star)

“We’ve made a few changes - although of course, the customers told us the cheese on toast must stay - and the feedback has been really positive,” he said.

“This is a really important meeting spot for people - you can really feel that sense of community.”

From pensioners, to dog walkers and young parents, the customers using the cafe to meet up are varied.

The “extremely positive” feedback has not gone unnoticed by councillors, with cabinet member for environment Councillor Andy Bowden saying the local authority was well aware of how valued the cafe was to the community.

He says it is an example of the type of services the council can deliver and that the local authority will reflect on the cafe’s success when considering how to develop the borough’s other parks and open spaces. A review of the spaces is currently taking place.

Meanwhile, Marlene Quinn, a ward councillor for the area, has also acknowledged how pleased members of the community have been since the cafe was given a new lease of life.

Both have been swift to praise the council officers for seizing the opportunity.

As the council weigh up ways to improve and develop areas such as Taylor Park - which it regards as one of the borough’s jewels - it knows one of its assets is proving a success.

The cafe is available Wednesday to Sunday daytimes.