Cookies Café refurbishment and relocation

Overview

We have transformed the catering experience within Biology by relocating and completely upgraded the Cookies café. Moving from its current home in B block to the Biology K block atrium (encompassing the current K atrium kitchen and the space outside M052), this project is a direct response to requests from the Biology department to improve social and dining spaces for staff and students.

This investment has delivered a high-specification, flexible social hub with a refreshed food and drink offer, vastly improved seating, and a brand-new self-service micro-market.

Benefits

• Enhanced dining provision
• We are partnered with York Emporium and brought an improved, barista-style premium coffee experience to the café, a major step up from the previous machine offering.
• While retaining a similar food selection to the original Cookies, the new outlet features an increased focus on high-quality "grab and go" items.

• Micro-Market 
• A new self-service, cashless micro-market ensures staff and students have access to refreshments around the clock.
• The micro-market features a standard vending machine, a premium bean-to-cup coffee machine, and a Smart Fridge stocked with a variety of fresh food items - ensuring there are catering provisions when the café is closed.
• Like the successful Library setup, we are able to adapt what the Smart Fridge stocks based on user feedback and preferences.
• Improved infrastructure
• The atrium's seating capacity expands to over 100 spaces, offering a wide range of modern furniture configurations.
• The redesigned atrium focuses on visitor comfort, incorporating fresh planting and essential modern upgrades like charging ports for laptops and phones.
• The new space features a cold drinking water supply and immediate access to hot water, for easy self-service.

"This significant investment is a direct result of collaboration with, and requests from, the Biology department to enhance campus facilities for their staff and students. By moving to the K block atrium, the new café will not only deliver a heavily upgraded daytime service - including premium York Emporium coffee - but its innovative micro-market ensures that high-quality food and drink are available whenever our community needs them."

Alastair Reekie – Assistant Director of Commercial Services

“The Biology K block atrium is central to the department both physically and metaphorically: it is a vital resource much used and appreciated by staff and students. Similarly, Cookies is a greatly cherished institution within the department, far more than just a cafe. The opportunity to combine and futureproof the two is an exciting project that will deliver synergy beyond the improved catered and self-service food and drink offering for the benefit of the department and wider community for the foreseeable future.”

James Chong  - Head of Department, Biology

Images

The following images show an artist's impressions of the new rebranded café and atrium layout. There will likely be changes between these and the delivered project.