Page 11 - acres-wood

AN INTERVIEW WITH SAMUEL B AKER -

THE GARDEN SOCIETY
The restaurant is the
HO W DID YOU STAR T THE GARDEN see it out there. But we’d rather draw people here; this
SOCIETY? is where it all started. It’s a unique site, a unique space soul of The Garden

and it’s unusual to have this amount of space around Society.
My business partner Aaron and I started in 2017,
here. People love the experience here - it’s somewhere People really enjoy
when we took over the whole site. I had worked here
they can come to relax, pick up gifts and get stuff for
as a kid, so it’s very much in my roots. After I finished the food we offer -
their homes. Hopefully it’s inspirational too, with the
University, I met Aaron - a friend from college - and there’s quite a range,
displays we put on. We’re constantly changing them,
we decided to approach the owners to take on the encompassing
to give people something new to see each time they
café as our first business. It was very small and very everything from
visit. We want it to be a destination centre, somewhere
traditional - but we’ve changed it up a bit since then.
people choose to come to. breakfast to afternoon
A few years ago, there were some big chains looking WHAT’S THE BIGGEST ATTRACTION - tea.
at buying garden centre sites, and the owners here WHAT GETS PEOPLE THROUGH
were looking at selling up - so Aaron and I approached THE DOOR? And we’re just about
the owners to develop our own concept. I had been to launch a bar, so
doing other design work elsewhere, and there were The restaurant is the soul of The Garden Society. there’ll be something
things that I wanted to do - there were gaps in the People really enjoy the food we offer - there’s quite for everybody.
market that I could see. And that’s how we came up a range, encompassing everything from breakfast to
with this concept of home living, dining and events. afternoon tea. And we’re just about to launch a bar,
We wanted to pull all of that together as a so there’ll be something for everybody.
destination centre.
I guess that’s at the heart of the operation - our food
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST offering, and the unique environment it’s served in.
REW ARDING P AR T?
We’ve also got a couple of brands which are unique
The best part for me is when I’m on the shop floor to us here, and we’re always changing the way we do
and see people come in - and they’re like, “Wow, things. Inspiration for the items and brands we sell
I love this!” comes from my travels - and so do the products that
I design. Travelling helps me identify the next trends
We’re constantly changing things, always trying
coming in, which inspires my own personal purchases
to generate new ideas. I travel a lot so I’m always
as well as what I make for the store.
looking at new stuff, and I try to make the next big
thing accessible. We’ve got a really good team, a WHICH COUNTR Y INSPIRES YOU THE
really creative team, and they’re passionate about MOST?
what we do. They’re here early in the morning and
That’s difficult. I spend a lot of time in the Far East - but
late at night - whatever the weather.
the Nordic influence has been particularly strong for
HO W HA VE LOCAL PEOPLE me. The Nordic look and feel has changed a lot, so it’s
RESPONDED T O IT? quite an exciting time. Traditionally, the Scandi brands
and styles have been very tight. Now, they’re opening
Really well. Traditionally, there haven’t been many
up to nature - which is what I’m really excited about.
people living in this area, but it’s growing all the time.
In the past, people in the local area would either have
to go to Winchester or London for this kind of thing.
Now, we’re being approached to put some pop ups in
the Centre of Southampton - because people want to

Make time to relax.

THE G ARDEN SOCIET Y

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