Tech powers safe opening of UK’s first mobile-ordering only food court

Online ordering and payment platform Yoello is using tech to power the safe opening of the UK’s first mobile-ordering only food court – The Castle Quarter Café in Cardiff.

This Friday (31 July) the brand new, 240-seater outdoor, covered food court, will open to the public, bringing a wide variety of the area’s favourite cafes and restaurants together under one virtual roof using Yoello’s online ordering and payment platform to help comply with social distancing while delivering an enjoyable experience to the city’s diners.

Diners will be able to choose seating across 75 tables and order from a wide selection of their favourite city centre eateries for delivery to their al fresco table via the Yoello platform at the URL address Cardiff-castle.yoello.com and by scanning the QR code on site – no app needed. Everything customers need, from boxes to drinkware and cutlery will arrive with their order.

Sina Yamani, CEO & Founder of Yoello says: “It’s been incredibly exciting working with Cardiff Council and FOR Cardiff on this solution to help the city’s hospitality sector get back in business. Social distancing has caused huge problems for the hospitality industry, so it’s great to be able to help increase capacity and trade through these initiatives."

“The council had the space in one of the most picturesque parts of town, and we had the means to connect all the fantastic local restaurants and cafés together on one platform. This gives diners access to food and drink from all their favourite eateries right there on their phones at the push of a button. Groups can all order from the same venue or pick and choose from different operators, but with the ease of ordering and paying on one site. Then they can just sit back, relax, enjoy the atmosphere and wait for their food to be delivered direct to their table.”

Phill Lewis, owner of local wood fired pizza restaurant Dusty Knuckle, adds: “Like so many restaurants and cafes in the area we couldn’t wait to reopen for business after lockdown, but we were concerned that the small size of our venue and lack of outdoor space would mean we wouldn’t see the business we needed coming through our doors. The Castle Quarter Café is a great idea as it provides us with the means to serve customers our delicious food in the comfortable, socially-distanced, outdoor space they need. We're confident that it will encourage plenty of people out into the city to enjoy some of their favourite eateries again.”

The Castle Quarter Café is part of a range of measures being put in place by Cardiff Council and fintech start-up Yoello to increase useable, outdoor space for the hospitality sector which is trying to recover from the effects of the pandemic and trying to operate profitably under the two metre distance regulations in Wales.

Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Sarah Merry said: “We wanted to create an attractive space which residents and visitors will love to use and one which can help local hospitality businesses get up and running again. We want as many people as possible to enjoy the new space which will give customers a stunning view of our iconic castle in the heart of the city centre. We hope it plays a major part in helping businesses in the city centre survive the fallout from the pandemic.”

Local operators who will be open and ready to trade on Friday include: Wallys, Dusty Knuckle, Bwyta Bwyd Bombai (3B's Café), Marco Pierre White, Fab Burgers, Grazing Shed, ZeroDegrees, Wok to Walk, and Park Plaza Hotel, with many more merchants expected to join over the coming weeks.

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Written by William Murray PR