Newbury Fair Close Centre reopens its doors

Restaurant will once again provide cooked lunches daily

NEWBURY’S Fair Close Centre has reopened its doors and from today (Friday) will be serving cooked lunches again seven days a week in its restaurant.

After three months of incredible efforts by staff and volunteers delivering meals on wheels, people can once again visit the centre in Newtown Road to eat out in a safe, spacious and Covid-secure environment.

The centre is registered with the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, making a two-course lunch just £2.75 from Monday to Wednesday during August.

Lunches will be served seven days a week from noon, with a fish special served on Fridays, brunch on Saturday and a roast on Sunday.

All tables will need to be booked in advance with numbers limited to 20 diners at a time.

Everyone is welcome at weekends, enabling the whole family to come together to enjoy a meal in a safe social space.

James Wilcox, the chief executive of Age Concern Newbury & District, which runs Fair Close, said: “Good food is at the heart of our work at Fair Close and we would love to see all the tables filled with people who might not have visited us before or discovered Fair Close.

“It’s a wonderful place where people in the ‘third act’, as it is becoming known, can come and enjoy a delicious lunch out with the peace of mind that we really have gone the extra mile to implement strict and sensible measures in line with and beyond the government guidelines.”

Age Concern Newbury has received a generous grant from the Greenham Trust to invest in new kitchen equipment.

Newbury Racecourse has also continued to support Fair Close with the loan of six large round banqueting tables to facilitate social distancing.

Mr Wilcox said: “Thanks to Newbury Racecourse and Greenham Trust, who continue to give us tremendous support and of course to our amazingly resilient staff and volunteers for all their hard work.

“I look forward to welcoming you to Fair Close for a very safe dining and socialising experience.”

Fair Close has launched a Covid-secure Restaurant Appeal on The Good Exchange to raise money to develop and improve its catering facilities.

If you would like to donate to the appeal, visit the Fair Close Centre website for more details.

For more information, contact James Wilcox on 07972 058378 or email jwilcox@fairclosecentre.org