Brand new in the city centre this summer is the Picnic Pop Up on Green Dragon Square. Open right through until October it’s a lovely space to sit outside and enjoy food and drinks.
With picnic tables, shaded parasols and fabulous plants all arranged for social distancing the area is the perfect spot to relax and bring food from one of many restaurants and cafés in the city centre. Plus, you can get no-contact delivery service from Deliveroo, JustEat, EatMe, UberEats, and Owlgetit straight to the main entrance for safe collection. The perfect option for when groups want to eat different things but all stay seated together.
We caught up with City Centre Director, Sarah Harrison, to find out a little more about it all.
How has the Picnic Pop Up been welcomed by people so far?
People have really loved it – the most common reactions is ‘Wow’. They love the look of it and feel very safe with tables being positioned 2m apart and the team who are managing it are doing a great job with cleansing. The tables are disinfected after every visitor as are the table signs. It’s attracted people to the area who have not seen Green Dragon Square before and really like that it is very family friendly. All we need now is some sunny days!
“Wow what a great idea!”
“This is what we need.”
“This should be here permanently.”
What inspired the idea for it?
Social distancing measures in cafes and restaurants reduces the seating capacity, making it especially hard for small venues. By providing an additional 125 seats in Picnic Pop Up, visitors pick up food from their favourite place and eat it in Green Dragon Square. They can also order food from one of the delivery companies to be delivered directly to their table in the Picnic Pop Up. We wanted to provided additional support for the food and drink businesses in the city centre to support them during the reopening period.
Is this something that could be a regular summer fixture in town?
It is certainly something we could look at if businesses and visitors would like to see return. Green Dragon Square is such an attractive space in the heart of the city centre it is an ideal location for a regular Picnic Pop Up. It’s an ideal sponsorship opportunity for a forward-thinking sponsor!
“It’s a wonderful idea. Looks lovely.”
“Nice to have somewhere to sit with the kids. I’m sure we will be back.”
“ Wow I wasn’t expecting to see this when I walked round the corner.”
What are the opening hours for the space, is it open in the evenings as well?
The opening hours for the Picnic Pop Up are from 11am – 7pm Monday – Saturday and 11am – 5pm on Sundays. The night time economy has only recently been permitted to reopen and venues would have put considerable time and effort into making sure their venues were safe to visit. We felt it was important to get people going back to their favourite places. If Picnic Pop Up returns next year, it is certainly something we would consider, especially it was in place at the beginning of summer.
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Picnic Pop Up is open now at Green Dragon Square (between Leicester Market and Knight & Garter) and will run through until October. Check out Deliveroo, UberEats and OwlGetIt for full delivery options. The space is open from 11am – 7pm Monday – Saturday and 11am – 5pm on Sundays.
The space is backed by Leicester City Council. Please be aware a maximum of up to 6 people are permitted per table, only those from the same household or support bubble. Alcohol is allowed only with food and no glass or bottles are permitted in the area.
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