Sodexo, one of the world’s largest multinational catering providers, will run the new Science Gallery Café, following Cloud Picker’s announcement that it would be moving out after nine years.
Sodexo won the public tender for the Science Gallery Café, marking the third tender the company has won in Trinity.
The Science Gallery tweeted that the restaurant would be closed until Tuesday, April 2nd, to prepare for the new tenants.
Cloud Picker is moving to a new location based in the projector room of the old Academy Cinema, opposite the Science Gallery on Pearse St, and will open before Easter.
Speaking to The University Times, Peter Sztal, one of the owners of Cloud Picker, said that the conditions outlined in the tender process meant that his company was “not in a position” to reapply to continue running the cafe.
Sodexo will be required to pay a fixed annual licensing fee of no less than €70,000 per year, in addition to paying College two per cent of the cafe’s monthly turnover.
Cloud Picker’s move follows the cafe’s controversial 2018 decision to defy Trinity’s demand that it stock only Coca-Cola Company bottled products, something that involved a months-long battle between the cafe and an “aggressive” Coca-Cola.
Sodexo is the force behind the Perch Cafe in the Arts Block. The company also recently won a public tender to run Trinity Business School’s new 300-seat restaurant, as well as a cafe in the building’s basement. The restaurant was scheduled to open in March but will open with the new Business School in late May.
The new restaurant, which was named Forum, will feature an outdoor area and space for a pop-up restaurant.
Speaking to The University Times, the Dean of the Business School, Andrew Burke, said that the company has “done a really nice design” and that “they do catering for many universities around Europe and they’re quite diverse in what they’re doing”.
Sodexo is known for providing catering services at universities across Europe. It also offers catering services to schools, corporations, hospitals and prisons.
Trinity’s Science Gallery was opened in 2008, and enjoys 400,000 visitors per year as one of Dublin’s top tourist attractions. The Science Gallery Café has previously been described by Times Higher Education as “the best cafe of any science exhibition in the world”.
Calls for the tender were announced on the Science Gallery’s website on February 7th, 2019 and closed on March 1st.
