Two Newcastle park cafés that closed earlier this year are set to reopen within days after new operators signed agreements with the city council.
The cafés in Exhibition Park and Paddy Freeman’s Park were shut by Newcastle City Council earlier this year, prompting criticism from residents who feared the loss of popular community facilities used by families, walkers, older people and Parkrun participants.
The Exhibition Park café will reopen on Monday, July 27, under local coffee and doughnut business Deep North. Trading as Bandstand!, it will initially serve customers from its takeaway hatch while refurbishment work continues inside.
Meanwhile, Ciccarelli Italian Gelato will reopen the Paddy Freeman’s Park café on Friday, July 24. The award-winning family business said it plans to carry out a major refurbishment during the winter to improve the space for visitors.
The cafés were closed after the previous Labour administration said the council could no longer afford to run them, claiming they were costing taxpayers around £200,000 a year in subsidies.
Council leader Colin Ferguson said reopening the buildings had been a priority since the Liberal Democrats took control of the authority following May’s local elections. He said: “When we were elected, I made it clear that we would look to accelerate the identification of new operators and am pleased we can now welcome Deep North and Ciccarelli into these popular buildings.”
“I know it was a shock to users when the previous administration took the decision to close the then council operated cafés, and we knew it was important to re-open the buildings as soon as possible.”
Deep North director Phil King said Bandstand! would offer speciality coffee, wood-fired pizzas, brunch, doughnuts, cocktails and craft beer, while also hosting evening live music and DJ events. He said the aim was to create a destination for regular park users while attracting new visitors to the area.
The Gregorio family, who run Ciccarelli Italian Gelato, said the Paddy Freeman’s Park café would provide hot and cold drinks, Italian gelato and light refreshments, with plans to source products from local suppliers and work closely with community groups.
