Nicolson Square Edinburgh awards event and café catering contract to Eats
Conference and events venue Nicolson Square Edinburgh (NSE) has awarded a contract to catering company Eats to run its new 80-seat café as well as all event catering at the venue.
The rolling contract is worth £250,000 for the first year and likely to be the same each year. The café was previously run by volunteers.
The café, called ‘Eats at the Well Café', is open to the public, event delegates and visitors. As well as coffees, snacks and a range of desserts, Eats will be offering daily specials in the café, which will be open from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 8am to 9pm and on Sundays from 9am to 9pm. The new catering contract has created nine new jobs within the core team.
For conferences and events, Eats will offer several hospitality day packages, which will cater for all dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free.
NSE has flexible event spaces capable of holding events for up to 250 people. The venue is housed within the category A-listed City of Edinburgh Methodist Church.
Eats launched as a new business in 2021 during lockdown as a food and dessert drive-through. By February 2022 it had opened a second unit in Edinburgh's Tollcross, which also included a sit-in café and takeaway.
NSE is the third location for Eats in the Edinburgh area and the company plans to increase its presence at more event venues and outlets in Edinburgh and Scotland.
Deborah Gallagher, head of venue at NSE, said: "We are delighted to welcome Eats to Nicolson Square Edinburgh at a very exciting time for the venue as we begin to welcome an even greater range of events. The catering is an important part of any event and we know Eats holds the same values as ours on great service, sustainability and ethics."
Rory Fairgrieve, co-owner of Eats, said: "As a young company with big expansion plans for Edinburgh and beyond, Nicolson Square Edinburgh is a key player in an exciting journey for us."
Nicolson Square Edinburgh is part of Central Hall Venues (CHV) group, the umbrella name for a new group of conference and event venues situated around the UK created by Central Hall Westminster. All surplus funds from running events are gifted back to trustees appointed by the Methodist Church. The trustees in turn maintain the upkeep of the properties and donate to charitable works all over the world. Venues run by CHV are contained within Methodist Halls primarily built as meeting places for the public.
