The new Guard Room cafe will be run by local entrepreneur Emily Bohnet and her team, existing tenants of the hugely popular Mess Room café at nearby Yacht Haven Quay as well as owners of the Lazy Cow Company in Modbury, Devon.
In a nod to its former heritage, Plymouth’s Turnchapel Wharf has opened a new café, naming it The Guard Room.
Located on the former home of the 539 Royal Marines Assault Squadron, the café will serve the village of Turnchapel as well as a growing number of businesses based at Turnchapel Wharf’s new marine business park. It will be run by local entrepreneur Emily Bohnet and her team, existing tenants of the hugely popular Mess Room café at nearby Yacht Haven Quay,
Furthering acknowledging the site’s Royal Marine past, the eatery was opened by Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour OBE – the man who was given credit as the creator of the Plymouth-based squadron.
Turnchapel Wharf Manager Ryan Bonney, who has overseen the three year transformation of the site, commented on the new café saying, “We’re delighted to be able to install a naval-theme into the new café as a tribute to Turnchapel Wharf’s history. As we continue to develop the site into a modern business park, we are continually reminded about the work that took place at Turnchapel over the past decades.”
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Pictures: Penny Cross and Yacht Havens Group.
Most recently, marine technology giant Thales have announced a £1million investment in Turnchapel Wharf, create a new testing and development centre which creates 20 new jobs in the city.
Thales’s new waterfront facility will be provide access to trial areas for development of cutting edge maritime autonomous systems and position Thales at the centre of future maritime autonomy capability. The facility will act as the key maritime integration, test and evaluation centre for the combined United Kingdom and French Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) Programme.
Harriet Baldwin, Minister of Defence Procurement, commented on Thales’ investment saying “Whether in the air or the sea, the UK is leading the way when it comes to autonomous systems. Thales’ announcement is yet another example of that, and another way in which this innovation is supporting jobs right across the country.”