Our Boosters Café Just Received a Huge Boost!
- 19th Feb 2025
- Author: Elliott Langley - Marketing Administrator
Getting a bite to eat or a cup of St Martins coffee is so important to a day out at the National Space Centre. Everyone needs their energy refilled from time to time, and our aptly-named Boosters Café is there for anyone looking to refuel during their visit.
Over the years, we’ve worked to develop Boosters into a café that’s accessible and friendly to everyone that visits the National Space Centre, especially families who need to plan meals for their children or people they are caring for.
From adding vegan-friendly and gluten-free options, refillable water bottles, smaller portion sizes and bottle-warming facilities, the team have spent a lot of time to make Boosters as family-friendly as possible. So it’s a huge boost (yes, I will keep making that joke!) to the team and the Centre as a whole that we’ve achieved accreditation from the Kids in Museums Family Café Standard!
The Family Café Standard is a benchmark that recognises cafés at attractions that are great for families. They provide an assessment based on feedback from families, taking into consideration the quality of our online information, space and facilities, choice of food, affordability, sustainability and staff training. It includes everything from children’s meals and activities in the café to food waste and sourcing sustainable and high welfare ingredients.
Teresa, our Head of Commercial Operations, spent an inordinate amount of time (with the aid of a lot of coffee bought from Boosters…) entering the application to receive this accreditation. “It was so important that we reach this standard,” she told me. “We really had our heart set on it. We've focused on making Boosters and the Centre as accessible as we can. Our mantra is “Space For Everyone”, and that means catering for literally everybody who comes to Boosters looking for refreshment.”
Kids in Museums has worked to make visitor attractions open and welcoming to all children, young people and families. Accredited venues are listed on the Kids in Museums website and able to use the Family Café Standard badge. "It’s a sign that families will recognise, one that provides confidence that the service will meet their expectations. So it means the world to us to have received it!"
“It was important that we be assessed by someone impartial and who has the best interests of families as their main priority,” Teresa says. “We’ve put a lot of hard work into making sure everyone is taken care of here. We’ve started offering “kids sized” portions and kids meal deals, because we know that not everyone wants a big serving, or perhaps aren’t in a position to afford a big meal. We want to cater for everyone. We’re also hot on sustainable options, as we know so many people who visit us are as well, so this is one of the things we wanted to be assessed on as well. All these changes are driven by visitor feedback, to show that we are doing this for them and with them. So this accreditation reassures us that we’re doing the right thing.”
Boosters café achieved a rating of 93%, earned by offering affordable hot and cold meals for families, options for multiple dietary requirements, a commitment to sustainability and staff training to ensure that the café is accessible to all. This is in addition to facilities such as a bottle warmer and highchairs, as well as the option for families to bring in their own food for children to eat in the café.
“People don’t always want to, or maybe aren’t able to buy food on the day, and we don’t expect people to. So we make sure we provide dedicated picnic areas for packed lunches, there’s no pressure to buy lunch at Boosters. There’s always the option to finish the day with a coffee and a cake, even a small purchase like this massively helps the charity out.”
The award comes just in time for the February half term, our busiest time of the year. “It’s reassuring for us,” says Teresa, “the feedback we received was so complementary and positive, so it really gives us a boost knowing that our efforts are making a difference.”
"The Family Café Standard noticed how well we present the pre-visit information for visitors, and that the facilities in our café for families are impressive. They said we have everything that visitors would need to feel comfortable in the space. They were also really impressed with the food range for children, as well as people with dietary requirements.
It means that families can be assured that they will be able to have a stress-free meal at Boosters, and that there is something there for absolutely everyone."
