Otter’s Restaurant reopens after £400k refurb

A £400,000 refurbishment of Otter’s Restaurant at the Chichester campus has been unveiled by Vice-Chancellor Professor Clive Behagg.

The renovation, which has opened for the start of the semester, features new tables, chairs, and soft seating areas, as well as lighting and wall-mounted television monitors. It also includes a new cafe, with an updated menu, as well as a number of new food stations selling gourmet hot and cold lunch and dinner meals.

At the opening ceremony Professor Behagg said the newly-refurbished restaurant is now a bigger, better, and brighter place for socialising and learning.

He added: “Otter’s Restaurant has undergone a transformation refurbishment into a high-quality, modern and comfortable environment, and follows on from the renovation of Bognor Regis last year. We are now moving towards one of the most important goals in our University’s Twenty-Twenty Vision guide: that every student will have an outstanding learning experience.”

As well as new menus, the restaurant also features booths with computer monitors, which can be used for group work or social meetings. Bi-folding doors have also replaced the large windows facing the courtyard which can be opened in the summer when a coffee cart will serve refreshments.

As part of the renovation, students were asked for the asked for their ideas, and many were incorporated in the overhaul. Deputy Director of Estates Management John Kingdon said the restaurant has been designed as a social space and restaurant.

He added: “We have increased the number of seats by more than 40, and have also provided booths where students are able to connect their laptops for an informal workspace. The recent refurbishment on Bognor Regis campus has proved very popular leading to a significant number of customers, and we hope the same will prove to be the case in Chichester.”