Haskins Garden Centre, Snowhill

In 2020, Haskins Garden Centres opened its newly redeveloped Snowhill centre in West Sussex following a significant investment to modernise and expand the site.

Haskins is a family-owned business founded in 1882 and it acquired its fourth site at Snowhill in 2003. The centre required redevelopment and modernisation to match the standards and formats of the other Haskins sites. A total investment of £15 million now provides the Snowhill centre with a retail space of 11,813 sq m, an outdoor plant area, a 440-seat restaurant and an outdoor patio to accommodate a further 170 diners.

Gratte Brothers Foodservice Solutions was appointed to design, supply and install new catering services for the restaurant. The installation included coldrooms with remote compressors; extract canopies; preparation and cooking equipment; laundry, and a large servery area including a specialist pizza oven.

Various servery counters were needed to cater for the extensive menu of patisserie, salads, bread/sandwiches, a roast offering, pizzas, children’s meals, and assorted beverages

The project was not without its challenges. Complications arose as the internal structure would not support extract canopies in the traditional way, so alternative methods of fixing were needed.  Repairs to a leaking roof and a late change of location for the remote compressors were additional hurdles. However, the original completion date was met by a major escalation of activity on site.

From small beginnings when the first nursery was opened, Haskins Garden Centres now operates 5 of the largest destination garden centres in the south of England.