News

Barlows lends a hand to Local Charity

Barlows was proud to support the First Step Trust team at the grand opening of the recently completed SMaRT Venue coffee shop in Sheffield. Every year the Barlows team lends its project management skills to a worthy cause, and this year’s project was close to home, located on London Road in Sheffield near the Barlows office. 

The First Step Trust, a charity set up in 1996, has 13 other projects around the country. The café concept was the first of its type for the First Step Trust. The SMaRT Venue Coffee Shop is providing valuable work experience to people who have been disadvantaged by ill health and helps improve their chances of future employment.  

The venue was originally a workshop but had been running as an art gallery in recent years.  Converting it into a café with full kitchen required a complete refurbishment and new fit out. 

Barlows expertise in managing fit out projects for Marks & Spencer’s cafés and McDonald’s restaurants meant they had all the relevant skills to project manage the new SMaRT Venue café. 

Jane Jackson, a member of the Barlows Charity Committee said, “The SMaRT Venue coffee shop provides an excellent service for the people it employs and the wider community with its food. We were delighted to be able to lend our project management services to the project and wish them every success for the future.” 

FST’s manager in Sheffield, Karl Newell, commented that “I have been blown away by Barlows’ commitment to this project.  Coming from a commercial project management background myself, I understand how generous Barlows have been.  Their advice, technical expertise and industry contacts have been invaluable to helping us realise our vision with high quality and at a price we can afford.  Thanks very much!”