Case study · Restaurants & cafés
Coppers Bistro, Preston
Specifically, Coppers Bistro Preston — garden-centre coffee shop grown into a full-service restaurant, designed and built with the owners through a winter programme.
Client
Preston Garden Centre
Location
Preston, Kent
Project value
£50k-£100k
Build time
6 weeks
The brief
Coppers Bistro Preston: From coffee nook to full-service restaurant
Sarah and John ran a small coffee shop at their Kent garden centre. As footfall grew, the space became too small, so they decided to build a full-service restaurant and brought in KCK to plan the commercial kitchen and front-of-house servery.
National firms bid for the work, but the owners chose a local team. With our office only around 10 miles away, communication was quick, site visits were easy and decisions were made fast, alongside competitive pricing and long-term support and maintenance.
What we did
A restaurant that flows into the garden
Kitchen and back of house
For hygiene and durability we used Bioclad wall cladding, Altro Stronghold 30 slip-resistant flooring and a wipe-clean ceiling system, with a custom extraction system designed to manage odour and noise, important with the restaurant sitting close to the garden.
Front-of-house servery and bar
The servery and bar got refrigerated display units and carcasses, slip-resistant flooring throughout and bespoke granite countertops, finished with design touches the owners wanted such as copper hand wash basins and a wood-burning fireplace as a focal point.
Outdoor area and programme
Landscaped outdoor seating with a water feature let the garden and restaurant flow together. Construction began in winter against tight deadlines, but careful planning kept the project on time and the garden centre trading throughout.
Equipment specified
Specified for full-service bistro cooking
- Blue Seal cooking appliances
- Rational combi oven
- Maidaid glasswasher and dishwasher
- Scandia walk-in cold room
- Hoshizaki ice machine
- Precision refrigeration
- CED stainless steel fabrication
Gallery
Inside the Coppers Bistro build
The outcome
A local favourite at the garden centre
The finished restaurant is warm, inviting and fully functional, and has drawn strong reviews from customers. Staff work in an efficient kitchen that runs smoothly through busy service, and the wider community has gained a high-quality dining option that quickly became a local favourite.
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