A well-loved cafe in the heart of Bute Park in Cardiff has issued a message on its social media with an update about an ongoing discussion it's been having with Cardiff Council regarding the lease on its building.
As stated in their social post, the Secret Garden Cafe, which survived a pandemic, floods, and the cost of living crisis while retaining its dedicated customer base, was taken over in 2018 on a new five-year-lease, has been in talks with Cardiff Council since July 2022 regarding the renewal of its lease.
However, following a series of unsuccessful lease renewal negotiations, The Secret Garden Café in Bute Park was served a notice by the council, stating it would be forced to leave its current premises by August 2 as a result of its tenancy expiring. Read more on that here. For more what's on stories, sign up for our newsletter here.
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The cafe, owned by Melissa Boothman, must now reapply to the council to lease the building. A petition was set up to obtain signatures in support of the cafe remaining in the grounds and it has over 13,000.
Taking to social media, the cafe which has raised £5,000 to repair and replace trees in the park that were vandalised, made 6,000 meals for NHS staff during the pandemic and raised more thjat £18,000 for charity wrote: "Wow…..what can we say.
"Since July 22 Cardiff council were in negotiations with us and even though they were being handled in a questionable manner, with good faith we believed they would renew our lease. We compromised and agreed to meet their demands, even though they are outside of our business needs and practices.
"However this wasn’t enough, and they then decided the lease for the Secret Garden Cafe should go on the open market, for reasons we still don’t properly understand, we can only assume it’s to test the water. They’ve been saying it’s because the terms are changing to better serve Bute Park users. So what we have done for the last 5 years doesn’t best serve Bute Park users????
"14 thousand people have spoken. They protested that they are indeed happy with our offering, with what we do for Bute park and for the community that uses it. 14 thousand people appreciate us, that means the absolute world to us.
"Our passion and dedication was waning after what has been 1 year of lease negotiations with hostile attitudes towards us. We THANK YOU for raising us up, for noticing the good we do, for supporting us and for speaking up for us. You lifted our spirits.
"The new lease will still be going out to the open market for tender. The council are asking us to put in an application. We don’t yet know what this new lease looks like or what’s included in it. It’s released this Monday, so we shall wait to see then. We still have to sit in a period of uncertainty, not knowing the future outcome for our business, there’s still a 50/50 chance we may not win the tender.
"A huge thank you to the team who show up everyday and do an amazing job. Thank you for coming in and asking how we are. This too shall pass."
Shortly after this update was provided, fans of the cafe in the park flooded its comments section with messages of support.
One cafe-goer wrote: "I love everything the cafe and you (Mel) stand for! If there is anything we can do, please ask. Thank you for providing such a wonderful cafe in the heart of the most beautiful park. Big love."
Others added: "Really hoping you get the lease - love everything about your cafe community" and "What a lovely testament to how loved and valued you are … will be praying this gets resolved xx".
We reached out to Cardiff Council, asking for a comment on the ongoing situation and petition - which can be found here.
A council spokesperson said: "Bute Park is incredibly important to the people of Cardiff and the interest in the future of the café is testament to that.
"The Secret Garden Café has been part of the Bute Park community for five years and there's no doubting the contribution it has made to the park in that time, however, the original tenancy has expired and come to an end, and a new form of management agreement and associated lease are now required.
"While we appreciate the uncertainty it causes the existing operator, under the Council's procurement rules, as governed by the constitution, a direct award cannot be made in these circumstances.
"To ensure that any new café offer meets the needs of park users, the Council have worked closely with the Friends of Bute Park to shape the specifications and the evaluation criteria of a tender document which will establish a new operating model for the café. A robust procurement process, designed to ensure best value for public money, and in line with standard council procurement processes, was due to begin on July 3. Unforeseen circumstances mean this is now scheduled to take place on Monday, July 17. The council would encourage the current café operator to make a bid so that it can be considered alongside any other bids received from other potential operators.
"Pending the conclusion of the procurement exercise, the Council has agreed an interim arrangement so the current operator can remain in place throughout the transition to the new arrangements. If the current operator puts in a successful bid they would continue under the new arrangements, after that point.
“The council will continue to talk with the current operator throughout this transition period and looks forward to evaluating all bids received to manage the site, which will continue to offer access to toilets in the park, maintain the site's facilities and offering, for the enjoyment of visitors to Bute Park."
The new lease was released to open market on Monday, July 3.
