food and drink outlets at NEC

The first store, located in the NEC’s atrium unveiled its new look on Friday, 5th February, just before the opening of NEC‘s largest trade show, Spring Fair on February 7th. The flagship Starbucks store in the Piazza will be undergoing its transformation in May for a June opening.

Amadeus, who have worked in partnership with the NEC since its opening in 1976 and continues to develop the food and beverage offering to cope with growing number of visitors following the increase of demand for live events hosted at the successful venue.

 

 

Food and Beverage Director Marc Frankl explained, “As the Atruim Starbucks became busier, the design and layout of the counter space made operating the unit very challenging. The limited space meant that there was no handoff point to serve multiple customers.”

“Our main concern was that we were impacting on the customer experience of those visiting conferences or exhibitions by not being able serve quickly or efficiently enough. By adding the new till and coffee machine we will not only increase our serving capacity by 50% but also speed up the process for the NEC visitors.”

The refurbishment at the Atrium has seen the counter area expanded to create more space for staff to operate with the addition of a third coffee machine, third till and handoff point. At the same time the seating area has increased from 79 to 99 covers.
The Piazza site will see a third till and with a fourth coffee machine added with an expanded counter area. An extra seating area situated indoors will be added to increase covers by 50 and enhance the customer experience during in the colder months.
Paul Bate General Manager for NEC Catering is delighted the refurbishment of the busiest Starbucks store has taken place at a key moment in the venues history, “As the NEC celebrates its 40th year, it is fantastic that Amadeus have been able to unveil the new look Starbucks store just before Spring Fair - the first ever event to be hosted at our venue and our longest standing show. Over the last 40 years the NEC has established itself as the UK’s number one exhibition centre, annually welcoming six million visitors to its site, so it is important we do everything we can to keep improving the customer experience – including where they get their refreshments.”

“Amadeus has grown with the NEC and are continually working to improve the customer experience of our visitors through investment and ensuring the food and beverage offerings reflect the customer’s needs.”

Amadeus will also be rolling out the refurbishment programme with exciting updates to the International Convention Centre (ICC) store later in 2016.